Eventide
by Oblivion-Time
Summary: Alice in Zombieland AU. I can see things. Terrible things. Things that people aren't supposed to see. Monsters exist and they are nothing like the boogeyman under the bed. It was my duty to protect my family from the invisible creatures, but my best wasn't enough. My everyday life slowly breaks apart when my boyfriend breaks up with me and a new guy enters my school.
1. Chapter I

**Eventide **

**Chapter I**

Darkness had never been anything I desired. Many fear the darkness, just like me. Children fear the darkness because the boogeyman could be hiding under their bed. Adults fear the dark because what comes out when night falls, like burglars who could potentially ruin your life. You never know where you're going in the darkness and someone could point a gun to your forehead in any given moment.

I don't fear the darkness because of thieves or mythical creatures, no, I fear the dark because what is _born_ in the darkness.

I can see things. Terrible things. Things that people aren't supposed to see. Monsters exist and they are nothing like the boogeyman under the bed. They are ruthless murderers who thirst for people's blood. I remember the first time I saw one of those monsters, my parents thought it was just my imagination, they never knew about the monsters. After that, I didn't say anything about them or else they would think I was crazy.

As I grew older, the monsters grew bolder. They could pace back and forth underneath my window, but they never made any attempt at coming inside of the house. They left behind large mysterious footprints from their massive feet and scratches from their claws. If my parents found them, they would definitely call the cops and things would get out of hand. I couldn't let that happen. Every morning at sunrise, I would give the excuse of taking a morning jog, when in reality I covered their tracks.

One terrible night, I couldn't keep my mother inside of the house. I could hear the monster pacing outside of the house, happily slurping up the saliva that dripped from its mouth. I screamed at the top of my lungs, cried my heart out, begging my mother not to leave the house. She promised she wouldn't leave the house and I was able to go to sleep, to the sound of the monster still pacing outside of my window.

She broke the promise. I awoke when the monster roared loudly and I saw my mother's car drive away from the driveway and the monster galloped right after it. That was the last time I saw my mother.

The next morning, she was in the news. Her car had been utterly demolished and her body was ripped into pieces, scattered all over the road. The police covered the whole event as an animal attack. The monster returned to my window that night with my mother's blood covering its jaw and claws.

My father didn't take my mother's death easily. We moved a month after she died and we never stayed long in each city. He never liked getting attached to a place since he was afraid it would slip away just like my mother had.

My father always looked at me with dead eyes, he knew I knew something important, why I was so reluctant to let her leave the house and why I had always wanted them to stay inside when the sun went down. He never questioned me, but I knew he hold me accountable for my mother's death. During a drunken night, he had said it right to my face. "I know it was you who killed her. Why else would you want us to stay inside of the house all the time? You are hiding something about her death. I know it."

Everything changed when we came to the small city called Death City in the Nevada desert. My life made an one-eighty and for the first time, I was okay with seeing monsters.

* * *

In one hour the sun would go down and the monster will be outside of my window again.

He blew it again. I had been waiting at the small café by the school for one and a half hour but he never showed up. This isn't the first time he stood me up. I'm getting really sick of this.

I unlock the front door to the apartment and I find my father passed out on the couch, bottles of booze littering the floor around it. Even after all of the years after my mother passed away, he still hasn't been able to coop with her sudden death. I never know where he works, only that it is when the sun is up, but he never told me where. All I really knew was that he brought in money for food and the rent.

Locking the front door behind me, I grab some leftover pizza in the refrigerator and heat it up. The microwave goes off after a minute and I grab my warm pizza and walk back to my room. The sun slowly starts disappearing from the sky. Soon it will be dark.

My phone buzzes and starts playing a little melody that came with the phone. I sigh loudly when I see it is my boyfriend calling. I don't really want to hear anything from him at the moment. He always blows off dates, never showing up and when he does come to the dates, he only stays for a couple of minutes before his phone goes off and he is off running without even an explanation. That is how our relationship has always been. He never explained anything, never said anything about him or what was going on in his life. He was like a wall, every question I asked him, he reflected it back at me and made me answer it. It was like talking to a wall.

I answer his call and lift the phone to my ear. "Hello."

"Maka, I'm sorry." He quickly apologizes.

"I guess I'm not going to get an explanation this time either?" I hope he will give me an explanation for his absence, through the past two months we have dated, he was always like a wall. A stone wall and my questions were like tennis balls, simply bouncing off the hard surface.

"Actually, there is something I need to tell you." His deep voice speaks from the speaker of the phone. His voice, it is so husky. "You know Jaqueline?"

I start nodding when I realize he doesn't see it. "Yeah, what about her."

My boyfriend has a gang of friends he's _always_ with. They are the only people who truly know him. He always put his friends above me, he never even hesitated if they needed help, but if I wanted to just spend some time with him, he had to check in with his gang if he had time for it. It was frustrating.

He sighs through the speaker. "I have cheated on you with her. It isn't the first time, we have done it more than three times at least during our relationship. I can't keep pretending like it never happened when I'm with you, I hope you can forg―"

"What?!" I shriek into the phone. "You expect me to _forgive _you for _cheating_ on me multiple times?! I can barely forgive you for constantly standing me up!" Tears start prickling my eyes. "It's over between us. Don't ever call me or talk to me again!" I hang up and I can't hold back my tears. They escape the prison of my eyes and roll down my cheeks.

He had cheated on me with his ex. He would rather go fool around with her than actually being with his girlfriend. That hurts a lot.

My life has always been very lonesome. My father hates me due to my mother's death, I can't have any friends because if they are out after sunset, I'm sure the monster will kill them. The only friend I have is Tsubaki. We only hang out at school, I have never ever let anyone know where I lived. If I brought someone home, even though they would leave before sunset, my father would be a problem. How do I explain my father's constant drunken state then? I wouldn't even want to tell them anything about my father or my mother. That is the one area I don't talk about, well, and the monster outside of my window.

My tears soak my pillow. My heart weeping out the sorrow.

He had been the first one I had really trusted myself with. He was my first boyfriend and first kiss, and now, my first heartbreak. Luckily, he wasn't my first love, I never had the chance of really loving him due to not knowing him. I don't even know why I went out with him for that long. It must have been his wild hair, hair products could even tame his hair even the slightest. His body was so toned and trained, every muscle perfectly curved and with the scar bisecting his chest. He always enjoyed walking around with no shirt, but he always refused to tell me where he got his scar. He refused to tell me anything about the bruises and the wounds that would appear on his body.

His eyes were my favorite part of him. Those deep ruby eyes of his, just as dark as blood. The first time I met him, I was enchanted with his eyes. His eyes always made an illusion of safety and familiarity. Looking into his eyes, I drowned in them and forgot everything about the monster outside of my window and about my sucky life at home. Everything was swept with the wind.

I would have called Tsubaki and told her about the break-up, but I was worried that she would try to get my address out of me and get out of her house. The monsters could take her and I wouldn't want that to happen to my only friend.

The sun went down behind the trees in the distant and slowly the shadows grew larger and the darkness grew thicker. The leaves from the bushes at the edge of our lawn rustles and two bright red eyes lit up in the darkness.

I should be scared, but after all of these years of being stalked and haunted by this monster, I'm not scared anymore. As long as I stay inside of the walls of my house, I will always be safe.

The monster stomps loudly toward the house. No other person can hear it stomping here while the claws of the creature digs up the grass as its being dragged on the floor. Saliva drips from its mouth and it gurgles loudly as it stares right at me. Its inhumanly large tongue licks its wounded lips as it stares at me with hungrily eyes.

He isn't going to get me.

I pull down the curtain, successfully cutting out the view of the monster. It must have stopped sitting like a puppy staring at the window since I can hear it stomping back and forth while its claws drag on the ground.

Gently, I weep myself to sleep, leaving the pizza uneaten and my homework half-done.

Tomorrow will be a rough day catching up on my homework and meeting my ex. I really don't want to look at him or talk to him. I won't be able to handle seeing Jaqueline and him together. Not now at least. Hopefully they will be "sick" and stay home.

As much as I want to believe them to be sick, I know they won't be.


	2. Chapter II

**Eventide **

**Chapter II**

As the sun's rays broke through the top of the forest, I was already dressed in my jogging attire. The monster growls loudly and disappears into the bushes. It is safe to go out.

My father is still out of it, most likely from the booze. Without even saying anything to him or waking him up, I walk out of my house and jog to the backyard where the monster left the grass wounded. It doesn't take long to fix the grass, all I need to do is making sure the dirt is covered with grass and my father will never find out. He has never been one to admire the garden and therefore never noticed the damages from the monster.

After fixing the grass, I jog around the neighborhood, meeting dog owners walking their dogs and old women and men in their robes taking their mail from the mailboxes. The sun keeps rising as I return to my home and quickly gets ready for school.

My father woke up and he isn't pleased at all, the hangover killing his head as he makes a hot cup of coffee when I leave the house. The bus stop grows larger and larger and the students living in my area are already waiting for the bus to come. It doesn't take long for the bus to come and pick us up and unfortunately, I'm the last one walking inside of the bus, leaving the chance of sitting alone a perfect zero.

Sometimes I really wished that Tsubaki could take the bus with me instead of that blue-haired monkey she calls her boyfriend to pick her up for school every morning. It would have been nice to have a friend on the bus, then again, it would make it easier for her to find my home. I couldn't risk that.

My eyes wander in search of an empty seat. My eyes find the first available seat beside a guy who doesn't even seem to notice me on my way to sit beside him.

"Excuse me, can I sit here?" I politely ask and smile toward him in hope of getting a good answer. A lot of guys going to Shibusen High are idiots, hopefully he will be nice.

Our eyes lock. He has blue eyes, the magical blue of a tropic ocean. His gaze sends shivers down my back and my fingers tingle with familiarity. I'm sure I haven't seen him before, at least not talked to. Maybe I have seen him in school but I never acknowledged his presence, but that still doesn't explain why I feel like I have met him before.

"Sure." He smiles politely back at me. That is the first time I notice his pierced ears filled with silver rings. "I'm Hiro. Hiro the Brave." He offers me his hand as I take a seat beside him. What's up with the weird name? It is just as weird as Death the Kid.

"Maka Albarn." I grab his hand and shake it. His grip is firm and his fingers are bony. "Have we met before?" It slips out before I even have the time to consider it. "I mean, I have a feeling like we have met before." I quickly release his hand and fists my red skirt in embarrassment. I shouldn't have asked him that.

"I don't think we have met before. This is my first day in Shibusen High."

Wait. Now? In the middle of the year?

He chuckles. "I know it is weird to transferee in the middle of the year, but I didn't like my last school so I transferred here. I have heard some great things about Shibusen High." Oh man, I'm so easy to read. Did he just say he heard great things about Shibusen? He must have heard that from teacher who turn a blind eye to everything. Shibusen High is far from being a good school. Half of the students are failing their classes and every day there are at least five fights. Heck, I'm the top student just after a few tests, instantly I got higher grades than any other students in the school.

The bus stops in front of Shibusen High. "I will see you around Maka." He smirks wide and flashes his white straight teeth. He turns away and disappears in the sea of students walking up the stairs to Shibusen High.

It didn't take long before I grabbed my school bag and followed the sea of students. The stairs were long and just walking up those stairs would make your thighs burn and shape your bump.

When I reach the end of the stairway, the day turns from okay to bad because my ex I dumped the night before, waits for me at the top of the stairs. His eyes wander from every blond in the crowd and I know he is searching for me because Jaqueline is a brunette, not a blond. I gasp loudly and I duck when his eyes start wandering toward me. The people around me give me weird looks as I walk. I keep walking while I keep ducking and fortunate for me, he doesn't notice me. As soon as I get inside of the school, I straighten my back and walk with my head high. It doesn't take me long to find my locker and I hum happily as I open my locker. Quickly I put my things inside and take out my books for my first class.

"You know you won't get rid of me that easily." As I close my locker, I jump up and through the ceiling in surprise. Beside me stands my ex, grinning that awful grin of his. That damned sexy grin. "Just ducking in a crowd won't be enough to shake me off."

I roll my eyes at him. "Soul. Go away. I don't want to see you. We are done. Go back to Jaqueline since you two seem so close." I push through Soul, roughly walk into his shoulder and heads toward my classroom. My heart clenches with pain and I feel like I want to cry again. It is foolish of me to feel this way since we weren't together for long and I never knew him really.

To my disappointment, Soul follows me. "I'm not going to leave you." I avoid his eyes as much as I can. "I know I screwed up, but I want you to know I will always be there for you. Just give me a call, I will come to your house in the middle of the night if you need me." Night. My house. No, that won't ever happen. The monster will be around and kill him off before he can even utter a single word.

"You were never there for me when we were together. Why should I believe you would be there for me now?" I walk inside of the classroom and successfully cutting Soul off by slamming the door after me.

When I take my ordinary seat beside Tsubaki, I see Soul looking inside of the window of the door. He looks at me, with the same boring facial expression as always before he look away, like someone had called his name, before he disappears.

"What was that about?" Tsubaki asks while she looks at me. "Are you and Soul arguing?"

I shake my head and put my things on the desk. "Yesterday after he stood me up, he told me he has been cheating with Jaqueline multiple times. So I broke up with him."

Tsubaki gasps loudly while she covers her mouth with her hand, her eyes are wide with shock. "What? You are kidding? Right? Soul wouldn't do that! I can't believe he would do something like that!"

Soul has a gang. That isn't a secret. Tsubaki's boyfriend, Black*Star, is in his gang and surprisingly, she and Black*Star never had this problem. Black*Star always showed up to their dates and didn't keep any secrets from her. They were like any other couple so how come Soul and I never was like that? They were in the same gang so shouldn't he care about his friends just as much as Soul?

I roll my eyes. Of course. He had lied to me so he could go to Jaqueline's house and fuck her. The only regret I have about Soul is that I didn't break up with him earlier.

The thing I never understood was why Tsubaki did and the others in his gang know Soul so well? They seemed to know him inside and out and I barely even scratched the surface of the mystery of Soul, and I had been his freaking girlfriend!

"Just drop it Tsubaki. He confessed he had been with her. I'm happy it is finally over." No, I'm bitter about this that my first boyfriend proved to be a cheater and an asshole. I couldn't believe I was with that kind of a person. "The relationship had been sour for a very long time. He stood me up on many dates and we were never even around each other except for the breaks in school, sometimes not even that. I didn't even know him. Every time I tried to get to know him, he passed on the question and turned it toward me. I can't be in a relationship with a stranger."

"Come here." Tsubaki says with her arms open and I find myself hugging her back, taking in her camellia perfume. "I know it must hurt. Ending a relationship that way must hurt, but listen to me. Soul wouldn't cheat. I don't know why he did it but―"

"No!" Instantly I'm out of her arms and I glare at her. "I can't believe you! Are you seriously going to take his side when _he_ is the one that cheated on _me!_" I grab my stuff roughly and I feel tears prickling in my eyes. "I can't believe you would stab me in the back like this!"

"Maka―"

"Save it!" I yell and I have successfully drawn the attention of the class that is inside of the classroom. I find myself taking a seat at the back of the classroom, far away from Tsubaki as possible.

Tsubaki looks sorrowfully at me with regret in her eyes. I can't bend now, I need to stand strong because I'm mad at Tsubaki for supporting _that cheater_ instead of her own friend. Sure, they had been friends before Tsubaki even met me, but she is my only friend and I could have used her support right now.

"Everyone." The teacher walks inside. "We have a new student in our class. You can come inside and introduce yourself."

My eyes widen when I catch sigh of the blond hair and blue eyes of Hiro. He confidently smiles toward me while he shoves his hands into his pockets, like a certain cheater I know. "My name is Hiro the Brave."

"Okay, Hiro, you can take a seat and open your textbook at the page 109. We will continue where we left off." Marie, our English teacher says.

I'm not surprised when Hiro takes the empty seat beside me, smiling wide toward me. "Told you I would see you around."

I find myself smiling back at him, the familiarity making my spine shiver. It feels good having Hiro around. He isn't a friend like Tsubaki, but it feels like he is _something._ Just someone to be able to talk to even though it isn't my problems, it feels amazing. Talking back and forth with him about the assignment and the text we had been going through, it felt good. It ended more like I had to explain every little part of the literature since he couldn't see the hints and loopholes in the text. He wasn't really a bookworm like I was, but it was okay since he was genuine and open about who he is. Being around Soul and never really knowing what was going on, it was a totally change talking to Hiro. I was kind of surprised at how much he shared about his passed school and about a fight about one simple pencil that had gotten him and the other guy expelled from his former school.

I giggle while I cover my mouth. "That is a very silly way of getting expelled. Starting a fight because of a pencil is ridiculous!"

He chuckles while he twirls the pencil between his fingers expertly. "Yeah, it was, the pencil kind of was the only gift I ever got from my father before he abandoned me and my mother. It is quite precious to me and I fear that I will lose it."

I stop giggling and my eyes lock at the blue pencil with the pink eraser at the top. "Is that the pencil?"

Hiro nods. "Yeah. I always take it with me wherever I go."

It amazes me how open he is about that. I know I wouldn't be able to talk about my mother without feeling the weight of guilt burden my shoulders. I would end up crying and it is better to keep it in the dark where the monster hides. No one would ever understand.

"What are you afraid of?" Hiro suddenly asks with curiosity in his voice.

I stiffen and the monster outside of the window appears inside of my mind. The image of my mother's dried blood on its claws and smudged around its mouth. "What my fear is?" I question stupidly.

"Yeah, you know my worst fear, so why not tell me yours. Life is all about give and take, right?" He is right. Life is about giving and taking, that was why my relationship with Soul ended because I was the only one giving and Soul was taking everything. He never gave something back.

"I guess." I sigh heavily, our assignment completely forgotten. "You have to promise not to laugh, okay?"

"Promise." He says quickly.

I gulp loudly and I feel a little nervous. I hadn't even admitted this to Tsubaki or Soul. He would be the first person. "I'm afraid of the dark."

He raises his eyebrow. "The dark?"

I blush and try to avoid his judging eyes. "Yeah, I guess I never got over the fear when I was younger. It has always been there with me."

"You don't need to be embarrassed." He puts his hand on my shoulder, successfully attracting my eyes to his blue orbs. "Everyone is afraid of something. Being afraid of the dark is actually very legit." He turns more serious as his smile drops and so does the happy spark in his eyes. "I mean, you never know what dangers that come out in the dark and disappears with the sun. Am I right?"


	3. Chapter III

**Eventide**

**Chapter III**

The bell rings and we are dismissed from the class. Hiro keeps looking at me with stern eyes. He is dead serious. Does he know about the monsters that lurk in the shadows of the darkness? It sure seems like it by the way he said it.

"I-I have to go." I quickly close all my textbooks and picks them up.

The seriousness washes away as quickly as it came and he is smiling once again. "Okay, I will see you around." He gets his stuff and gives me one hinting smile before he walks away from me.

I couldn't get him out of my mind. Was Hiro able to see them too? Does he know more about the monsters that I do? It isn't that hard to know more than I do since all I do know is that they come out at night and disappear before sunrise, they kill and feed on humans, but I don't know why really. The monster that has been pacing outside my window hasn't eaten a person in months, it seems like it doesn't need to eat people that often, or they eat something entirely different and maybe kill humans for their own amusement.

Walking out of the classroom, there were so many things on my mind. This Hiro person, he is something special. He seems to have an understanding for me and for the monsters in the dark. If he can see them, I need to know everything he knows in order to protect my father and the ones around me. I can't let that monster kill anyone because of me.

I wasn't even paying attention where I was walking, bumping into other students and took my math books instead of my bag with my sport clothes.

Tsubaki wasn't in the locker room when I arrived there. She did the right thing by avoiding me since I really need some time alone to figure things out. I can't have Soul and Tsubaki on my mind when Hiro is so much more important. We hadn't even known each other for three hours, but just in those mere hours he had occupied my mind.

As soon as Soul and his gang of jerks walk inside of the inside track course, actually on time for once, with Tsubaki walking beside her boyfriend, the air sizzle with tension. Two hot spots burn on my neck and I know that is from Soul's intense stare on me.

What is up with him?

"I want you all to jog around the track five times before you do twenty push-ups. Then you await further instructions." Our Physical ed teacher, Sid Barett says and I'm running on the track as soon as we are dismissed. To my displeasure, Jaqueline was quick to run pass me. Damn her, does she has to rub it in my face? She already got Soul, she won over me, but now she has to rub it in my face that she's _faster_ than me too! She may have her back always turned toward me, but I can feel her snickering in joy for being better.

"You know you don't have to look at her like that." Soul says when he catch up to me, not running pass me.

This day just turned really badly.

"It's none of your business." I wanted to add a mean comment, but that wouldn't make the matter any better. I'm very much scorn at him for cheat on me, but I have to focus on the good stuff. He was an asshole and now I'm free from him. "Or wait, I forgot, everything that goes on about your friends is your business."

"Exactly." Even though it was meant to be a mean comment, Soul had the ability of turning everything against me. "That means you are my business as well. You are my friend―"

"Save it!" I come to a sudden halt and Soul stops a few feet in front of me. This is the first time I notice his lack of shirt on his upper body, exposing the glistering curves of his perfectly shaped muscles. I hate him for pulling such a low trick on me. "We aren't friends. You are nothing to me. So why don't you run along and catch up with Jaqueline. You two seem to be such close friends."

Soul grabs my wrist when I try to pass him, successfully cutting my path off with his body. His face so close to mine I can smell the sweat odor off his body. His breath hitting my lips and his eyes stare into my own. "You know you can talk to me. About anything. I won't judge you or tell anyone. I'm all ears."

Oh, I want to give in so badly, to smash my lips against his and feel his body pressing against mine. I want him to crush me against his body while his hands hover over my back. The attraction I unfortunately hold for him is still painfully obviously there. "Never. Delete my number because yours is already gone." That's a lie. I still have it programmed in my phone. "I won't ever confine anything in you." Roughly I rip my hand away from his grasp and I push pass him.

"Then how about your mother? I have heard she died because of an animal attack." He says boldly and I feel the seriousness in his voice.

I stiffen. How does he know about her? I know I never told him anything about her or my father. It was on the news years ago, so how in the world does he know about it? Has he googled me and read the articles about her? There isn't any other possibility.

"That must have hurt consider she was your mother, but don't you find it weird that her whole car was utterly destroyed. You know a bear couldn't have done something like that." He's on to me. Does he know about the monsters too? If he knew about them, why didn't he ever tell me anything about them? Why is he hinting that my mother's death wasn't an animal attack? What is he getting at? This doesn't make any sense!

I clench my teeth, anger boiling in my veins. "Don't talk like that about my mother."

"You know something was weird about her death―"

Quickly I turn around on my heel and punch him hard in the jaw. "Shut up!" I exclaim and Soul gently cups his jaw, opening and closing it to make sure it is still intact. "She died because of an animal attack. Just leave it alone!" Without spending another second beside him, I took off running.

He left me alone the rest of the Physical ed class. Sid gave me a warning instead of sending me to the detention since this was my first assault on a student and it hadn't broke out into something more. The bruise on Soul's jaw turned blue and it looked quite nasty. Maybe I shouldn't have gone so hard on him, but he did deserve it, talking about my mother's death like that. He is right, it was weird because it wasn't an animal, but talking so bluntly about my mother's death did tear up some old wounds.

Throughout the class, Soul gave me apologetic looks but never did I acknowledge any. After the class Tsubaki had tried to talk to me but quickly I had taken my things and left the locker room, still in my training attire. Instead I changed inside of the school's bathroom.

So many things had happened, with Soul and with Hiro. They both seem to know about the monsters, but why now? Hiro's sudden appearance isn't a coincidence. Has Hiro's presence inside of this school pushed Soul somehow? But Soul never saw me around Hiro, I'm sure he didn't see me with Hiro inside of the bus and he isn't in my English class.

My eyes widen. Tsubaki is. She must have told them about Hiro, so does this mean they know Hiro from before? It does make sense, why would they react like this if they didn't know him?

Lunch finally came and I avoided the cafeteria because I know if I go there, there will be drama. Either with Tsubaki, Soul or Hiro and at the moment, I want to avoid it and be alone with my own thoughts. So I walk up to one of the balconies of the school, gently I dangle my feet over the ledge between the fence that frames the balcony. Time from time I take a bite of my sandwich.

"Is this your spot, or is it okay if I join you?" I turn my head and I see Hiro standing at the doorway. "If you want to be alone I could find some other spot."

"Don't you know where the cafeteria is?" I ask instead, putting my sandwich down in my lunch box.

"Yeah, some student showed me it but I would rather eat alone than to awkwardly sit beside some student I don't even know." Hiro smiles gently toward me. "So, can I eat with you? You are like the only person in this school I would consider eating with."

I smile kindly toward him. I can't say no when he is new. If Tsubaki would have denied me to eat with her when I was new, I would still be the lonesome kid. Well, I kind of am now when Tsubaki and I are fighting. More like I'm fighting with her, but it seriously hurt being left after a break-up when my only friend choses his side instead of mine.

"Sure. I don't mind." I take a sip of my water before I put it down.

"Sweet. Thanks." Hiro takes a seat beside me and puts his legs through the fence and swings them softly back and forth. He takes out a large sub with meatballs, dressing along with a mix of vegetables. He takes a large mouthful of his sandwich before he washes it down with gulps of his soda.

We sit in silence; the sound of his loud chewing is heard as we both stare at the view of Death City since the school is on a hill.

"Something is on your mind." Hiro states as he presses the last piece of his sandwich into his mouth. "Want to talk about it?" He says with the sandwich pushes against his cheeks before he washes it down with the last drops of his soda.

"A lot of strange things have happened." I say while I tap my index finger against my bottle. "This day hasn't really proven to be a very good one. Fought with my friend and my ex thinks everything is just fine between us and think we can be friends when he always stood me up and slept with his ex."

Hiro nods. "Wow, that's a lot on one day." Hiro says. "How are you holding up?"

"A little hurt, but nothing much. I can handle it." I take a sip of my water, leaving it still half-full and my sandwich half-eaten. I'm not feeling very hungry. Neither the sandwich nor the water was fulfilling.

Hiro gets up on his feet. "We should do something then. You know, to make this day better."

I giggle and pack my lunch into my bag. "I haven't known you for even a day and you want us to hang outside of the school? Slow down your horses."

He smirks and offers me his hand. "Then let's do something this weekend. We could hit the arcade, go to the movies or just for some ice-cream if you want."

I grab his hand and he helps me up on my legs. "I hope you aren't thinking of this as a date. I recently broke up with my ex and I wouldn't want anything new or anything romantic."

He nods and releases my hand. "Of course. It will just be something between friends." The bell rings and lunch is over. "I promise we won't be out after nightfall."

I smile as we both walk down the stairs to continue with our afternoon classes.


	4. Chapter IV

**Eventide **

**Chapter IV**

It was a drag finishing my homework that night since I didn't do the homework yesterday, so I had almost double work to do, but with my brains and shutting the whole world out, it worked out quite nicely. The sound of the monster pacing back and forth outside of my window proved to be some kind of a timer. He would walk back and forth about four times before he would stop and look up at my window, staring at me for a few minutes before he would repeat the process.

Then something happened.

I lay in the comfort of my bed with a warm blanket and a comfortable pillow, hearing the soft _tick-tock_ from my alarm-clock the wind blowing through the trees. The monster walks back and forth, dragging its claws as always.

My eyes snap open when I heard the monster gurgle on it saliva before it roars.

This is bad.

Quickly I throw my sheets off my body and leaps for my window, pressing my face and hands against the glass so hard it almost breaks. The monster doesn't look at the window anymore, it looks toward the road and while its claws clatter and the saliva watering the grass.

I have seen all of these signs before, these are the monsters hunting instincts. It is preparing for the kill. I can't let my monster go and kill someone, I have to prevent it as well as I can.

Quickly I push myself from the window and grab my trusty baseball bat in my hurry. I almost trip over my own feet as I run down the stairs. Ripping open the front door and hurrying out of my house, I find myself running toward the streets, totally forgetting about closing the front door behind me. To my utter surprise, the monster is gone. I don't hear its growls, stomps or its claws. The sound of the crickets fills the air and some cars in the distant, nothing out of the ordinary.

Something is wrong, very terribly wrong. I should be able to hear _something_ from the monster. It can't have disappeared already, the sun is still gone and the monster isn't _this_ fast.

"Kill…"

I gasp and turn around, the monster blocking my path to my house. It gurgles on its saliva while it cracks its head in an odd angel.

"Kill human… More souls."

It had tricked me! Since when did the monster start talking and grow enough brain to trick me out of my house! This shouldn't even have happened! The monster was supposed to stupidly be pacing by my window.

The monster leap toward me and I gasp loudly. It swings its massive claws at me. It was just a hairs breath away from the monster's claw digging into my side. The monster used his power from the swing my keep turning and his leg digs into my stomach, kicking me further away from the front door. The air leaves my lungs and I hit my head hard on the ground. Fortunate for me, it didn't cause me to get dizzy or pass out. Nothing too bad then.

"Soul!" It hollers loudly and jumps up in the air, raising its claws to dig into me.

I gaps loudly and roll out of the way. The claw digs into my short and breaks the fabric. Quickly I get up on my feet and dashes toward the front door. This is my last shot. My breath hitches as I push myself to run as fast as I can.

"Kill!" The monster gurgles loudly.

I gasp loudly as its claws dig into my thigh and I fall inside of my house. I cry out in pain but quickly covers my mouth with my hand. My father is still asleep. I can't wake him up. The monster rushes toward the open door but then bounces away, like he ran into a glass wall. The monster grows loudly while he tackles against the invisible wall, always failing at getting pass it.

Carefully not to hurt my already wounded leg, I get up on my feet and close the door behind me, locking it.

I clench my hand, fisting the damages fabric of my shorts while I squeeze shut my eyes. The pain from the three large gashes throbs painfully. It was a pain to clean it out with the left over alcohol my father had on the floor since he didn't have any rubbing alcohol. The wounds were deep and I would need stitches, but how could I explain these wounds? Animal attack? No, then I would have to admit of being out in the middle of the night and I wasn't.

Instead I used ordinary silver tape in an attempt of closing the wound. With the amount of silver tape I had to use in order to close up the wounds, my whole thigh including the top of my knee were covered with tape. This would make it hard for me to walk normally.

Limping back to my bedroom, I looked out of my window and there the monster once again stands, looking up at my window. Its right claws were covered with my blood. It smirked wide while its long tongue licked the blood away from its claws.

It's a disturbing imagine, instead of seeing the monster feed on someone else's blood, it was _my_ blood on its claws. For the first time in years, he actually got a taste of my blood and from the looks of it, he really does enjoy it since it grunts happily while he eagerly licks the blood from its claws. It cut his tongue on the claws, but it didn't let it stop him from devouring every drop of my blood.

I couldn't sleep that night. The throbbing from the wound was killing me. I got up from the bed to take some painkillers, but they didn't reduce the pain at all. The few hours of sleep I got was plagued with nightmares, which left me grumpy and my temper was reduced even further.

I didn't go on a jog that morning, instead I had to fight myself into a pair of jeans since the skirt wouldn't cover the tape. Limping out of the house with my school bag on my back, I grab my baseball bat and get it inside of my house before I cover all the traces of last night's fight.

When the school bus came, Hiro greet me happily and instantly, I feel annoyed and ticked off.

"What's up with you?" Hiro asks concern. "You look like a zombie."

He must be talking about the purple bags underneath my eyes. How gentlemanly of him to point it out like that.

_Get him back. Say something mean back._

"Speak of yourself, you look like a needle pillow with all the piercings you have. Have you ever considered of becoming one since you sure look hideous with them." My eyes widen. The words came so easily. It was never in my nature to make mean comments, but this one was so easy to say.

What is wrong with me?

Hiro's eyes are large in surprise. "I'm sorry, I didn't mean to offend you. You just don't look in the best shape."

I sigh heavily, my eyelids feeling heavier than ever. "Nightmares. I couldn't sleep. And I'm sorry. I didn't mean it. It was the sleep deprivation talking."

The bus stops and Hiro and I get up from our seats. "Don't apologize. I know how frustrating it can be when you don't get enough sleep. Just make sure the teachers don't catch you sleeping or you will be spending the evening in detention instead of sleeping at home."

We walk up the stairs to the school and thankfully, Soul doesn't wait at the top like he had yesterday. Hiro and I parted ways when we both went to our separate lockers to then go to our classes. As I walk inside of my classroom, Tsubaki smiles lightly and waves friendly to me.

_Give her the finger. Show her that you are still mad at her!_

I give Tsubaki the most hateful look I can muster while I give her the middle finger.

Her face turns shocked and she covers her mouth with her hand.

I try to walk as casual as I can with my wounded leg, but it grows harder. It throbs harder than ever and I just want to curl into a ball and cry out in pain. The wounds were deep but it isn't supposed to hurt this bad. I cleaned the wound thoroughly so it couldn't be infected.

The classes were too long. When no one was watching, I would dig my nails into the desk and scratch the surface. My whole leg throbs in pain and I couldn't take it anymore. It hurt so badly.

_Then why don't you just leave? Nobody is forcing you to be in class._

I could leave class. I don't need to be in here. I could take lunch earlier, I certainly do need it.

Gathering my stuff and putting it inside of my bag, I get up from my chair and start to head to the door.

"Maka Albarn, where are you going? The bell hasn't rung yet." Our teacher Miss Marie says while straightening her back from kneeling in front of a student's desk. "You have to have an excuse to leave the classroom you know."

_Tell her off. Show her who is boss. You are Maka Albarn!_

My eyes narrows and I feel my hands clench. "I don't give a fuck if you give me your permission or not."

_That won't do. Do something dramatic and crazy!_

Marie gasps loudly. "Maka! Control your language!" Her eyes are wide and she covers her mouth in shock. It almost looks like she has witnessed a murder.

The stash of paper catches my eyes and a large smirk slowly spreads on my face. Quickly I snatch it off her desk. It proves to be the attendance list and with a quick "ritch", I rip the papers in pieces before I throw them up in the air. "I don't fucking care about attendance." The papers gently fall down on the ground and I slam the door shut behind me. My nails dig into my head and I stop a few steps away from the classroom.

Why did I do all of that? It isn't like me at all. I'm not this kind of person to pull stunts like this. Miss Marie and Tsubaki didn't deserve to be treated like that.

Gently I run my fingers through my pigtail. This isn't who I am.

_Rip the pigtails out. Be sexy and go wild!_

The bands in my hair fall to the ground and my hair tumbles around my neck and shoulders. My fingers wander to my buttons on my shirt and I pop the first button, revealing my collarbones. My eyes widen when I'm about to unbutton the second button. My hands freeze while I look of into space.

Why did I just do this? I _never_ wear clothes that show off my collarbones or any cleavage at all, not even when I was with Soul, I never wore anything that showed off skin. Not to be sexy or anything, this isn't like me.

I gasp loudly and I collapse on the floor, my right leg throbbing violently with pain. A sharp cry leaves my mouth before I bite down on my thumb. My whole leg is burning with pain, if I had a butcher knife, you bet I would cut off my leg without any hesitation.

The dismissal bell rings and my eyes grow wider. I can't let them find me like this.

Getting up on my injured leg, I grit my teeth in pain while I quickly limp away from the classrooms. As soon as I round the corner, I hear the classroom doors slam open. Quickly I limp to the balcony where Hiro and I had lunch and slam the door shut behind me. I breathe heavily and moan in pain. I'm not supposed to feel like this. This is too much pain for just cuts.

_Go mad, let go of reasoning and the pain will go away._

We are very high up. The pain is just so bad. It is unbearable.

_Then jump. The pain will go away then._

I should jump. The pain will finally go away and I will be free.

The doors to the balcony slams open and I can barely crack my eye open, but there is no need since I recognize the voice. "Maka!" Soul yells and I feel his hand on my cheek, forcing me to look at him even though I don't have the strength to open my eyes. "Shit! Where are you hurt? You need to tell me." Soul grips my shoulder and shakes me slightly. "Open your eyes, concentrate on me. I'm going to make the voices go away."

Voices? What voices?

_Bite him. Bite him now!_

A low growl escapes my mouth and I bare my teeth. Before I even have the chance, Soul's hand close my mouth and the next thing I know is an electric shock going through me and I find myself falling into restless sleep.


	5. Chapter V

**Eventide **

**Chapter V**

When I woke up, I was no longer on the balcony, or inside of the school. The blue walls are naked and so is the floor. The desk beside the bed has a stack of homework which seems to be untouched. Seems like the person owning this room doesn't spend much time inside of their room or working on their homework. The room is lit up with one single lamp in the ceiling and the room misses a window. This room misses that homey feeling. The nightstand only has an alarm clock and a photo. My eyes widen and my heart stops. In the photo, there stand Soul and another man. They both have white hair and red eyes, Soul is younger than the other man. Soul has a stronger jaw line along with the crazy pointy teeth while the other man has ordinary white teeth and a smaller face with strong cheekbones. The man is very handsome, but he is no Soul.

The doorknob twists and it creaks loudly as it swings open. "You are awake." Soul stands by the door before he closes it behind him. "You scared the wits out of me." Soul strolls to the bed and takes a seat on the edge. "How is your leg?"

I look down at my leg and I find myself in a pair of oversize sweat shorts which looks like they used to be sweatpants since the hem is damaged. My right leg is neatly bandages with white gauze and the intense throbbing of pain is completely gone. "It feels good. I'm not feeling any pain at all."

Soul smiles, not a smirk, but a real smile with his eyes sparkling. I like that smile much better than the grin of his. "Good."

This is my time to ask him questions, not the other way around. "Where am I? I'm supposed to be in school."

Soul chuckles, his white bangs gently caressing his eyelashes. "School is already out and you don't need to worry, you got excused from the rest of the classes so your attendance hasn't taken a toll." Soul finds my hand and sparks fly, my fingers tingle deliciously and I find my cheeks heating up. "And you are in my apartment. I took you here after you passed out."

His apartment. This is the first time I'm inside of his apartment. "How come you took me here? You could have just left me in the nurse's office instead of bringing me here."

Soul shakes his head gently. "I couldn't do that. Your wounds were out of their understanding." Soul squeezes his hand and moves closer to me, his eyes an intense scarlet. "I know where you got those wounds Maka. I need to know how you got them. I need to hear the words come from your own mouth."

My heart speeds up, not because of the closeness between Soul and I, but because of the sudden change of subject. Does he really know about the monster that lurks in the night? He has made a hint about it at the track field but how do I know he really is implying at _that._ I can't just tell him the monster outsmarted me and got me out of my house and attacked me. How crazy doesn't that sound?

"I don't know what you are talking about."

Soul sighs and runs his free hand through his hair, still having his other hand in mine. "Maka, that wound is made from claws and it isn't exactly from a bear or a wolf." Soul leans closer to me, his face about a ruler away from me. "And it isn't from any animal. Both you and I know what it came from. You can admit it."

This doesn't feel good at all. "Who is that person in the picture?" I change the subject in hope of getting away from talking about the monster.

"Don't change the subject. When you tell me what made those wounds, I will tell you who he is, deal?"

What, so this means Soul will really tell me something about his life? That guy in the picture must be someone important judging on Soul's large grin along with how they look at each other with that happy spark in their eyes. So look annoyed, but he still looks very happy.

Even though how much I would want to know about this mystery person, I don't know if I could tell him.

"What will you do with the information once I tell you? How can I know I can trust you to not throw me into a mental hospital?" I pull my hand away from his, his hand is way too distracting with how he brushed it with his thumb and the lovely sparks that flew on my skin.

"You can trust me because I take care of my own." Soul looks bothered. His eyes dart between my eyes and my hands on my stomach. I have a feeling he wants to touch my hands or just touch me in general, but why would he want to do that when cheated on me with Jaqueline, his ex?

Soul never talked anything about his and Jaqueline's relationship. He always shot me down and turned the tables around and asked me why I hadn't dated before him. It was Tsubaki who spread a little light over Soul and his relationships in general. She told me Soul had proven to go between girlfriends a lot. Before Jaqueline, he had already had three different girlfriends, they lasted about top two weeks to a month while Jaqueline lasted four months, that's double the time Soul and I lasted! Tsubaki said they got along very well, but then Soul just broke up with her from thin air. No one knows exactly the reason why Soul broke up with Jaqueline, but one thing is for sure, Jaqueline didn't like it at all.

When I heard about Soul and Jaqueline's past, Soul and I had already dated for one week. I was not pleased at all since Tsubaki told me only three weeks had gone by from Soul breaking up with Jaqueline and starting to date me. I always had that nagging feeling that I was just a rebound, but I didn't want to believe it. Soul was my first boyfriend and he wouldn't do something like that, oh boy I was so wrong. When I tried to confront Soul about it, he just swept it under the rug and never gave me any proper explanation. I should have known earlier I was just a mountain for him to climb and a rebound from his past girlfriend who he obviously was very fond of.

"We both know I'm not your own. We aren't dating and you aren't my friend." I say and as I suspected, Soul wanted to touch me.

His fingertips gently caress my bandage, following the edge of it before he caresses up my thigh, following the bandage tightly wrapped around my thigh. "I know, but we are more similar than you think. I know we are over, but I still want you to be my friend and I will do anything in order to be your friend." Soul doesn't bring up anything about our previous conversation, I must have successfully managed to dodge it, and it's the first time I managed to not get Soul to turn it back toward me.

"We aren't similar because I'm nothing like you. We were never friends, not even when we were together. We were never friendly toward each other before or during the relationship. So excuse me if I don't want to be your friend when you have hurt me. I don't want a person like you in my life. You only screw things up and I don't want that in my life. I wish I never met you because you have only proven to be a hassle and constantly stabbed me in the back." I say while I stare into his eyes. Gently I take his hand away from my thigh. "I need to go home before it is dark."

"Too late. It is already dark. It has been dark for about two hours." When I release his hand, Soul quickly snatches it back in his hand and gives it a squeeze. "And I want to show you something." Soul tugs at my hand, encouraging me to get up from his bed.

I don't know what is going on, but if it truly is dark outside, I won't be able to leave. The monster will kill me as soon as I step close to my house and I barely got away yesterday, how am I supposed to get away with an injured leg? If I'm going to be stuck inside of Soul's apartment, I could as well see what he wants to show me.

I try to get up from the bed as well as I can, Soul gently hoists me up on my good leg. Soul shows me out of his bedroom while I limp on my leg. Soul's hand stays in mine which annoys me. How many times do I need to deny him for him to stay away? If he is going to be like this, I will only end up a two-time loser.

As soon as we exit his bedroom, I'm met with the darkness that pours inside of the windows and the dimly lit lamps that holds the darkness away.

The rest of the apartment isn't much better. I see inside of the kitchen and that is very small. There is a very small wooden table with two very unstable chairs. The apartment only has the needed stuff, he doesn't have a Tv, but he does have a couch. Either Soul is poor and doesn't have the money for proper furniture and other assets for the apartment, or he considers himself that he doesn't need them. He does have a king-sized bed so I guess he spends his whole day in bed fucking some sluts or his exes, he won't ever get me in bed, that's for sure. Why do girls even want to be with him? He is an ass.

Because he has a hot ass and he is very sex.

Damn I hate how attracted I am toward him.

Soul gently tugs me toward the window, but I don't even need to look out of the window because I can hear growls, stomping and claws dragging on the grass. The monster is here. He found me again.

We reach the window and there the monster is. He growls loudly and looks up toward the window, his long tongue hangs out of his mouth and saliva drips onto the grass.

"Maka… want." The monster growls while his claws clatter in excitement.

"You can see it too, can't you?" Soul whispers while he squeezes my hand. "Don't worry. He can't hurt you in here. As long as you are inside, you are safe."

For the first time in a very long time, my heart speeds up when I look at the monster from the safety of a home. I'm not alone to see it. How can Soul see him? Why didn't he tell me earlier?

"The Kishin came here as soon as the sun disappeared. It has been standing by the window the whole time while he murmured your name. You need to explain your connection with it." Soul gently tugs me away from the window and forces me to take a seat on the couch, gently lifting up my legs on the couch not to hurt my wounds.

"Kishin? Is that what you call the monster?" I ask while Soul takes a seat beside me and gently pulls me down so my head rests on his lap.

"Yeah, now tell me about this Kishin. Tell me every detail including your mother's death."

That is all it needed, that one little part at the end of his sentence that shattered my happy smile I had always put up for all the years when my mother has been gone. Tears trickle down my cheeks and I burry my head in his stomach, successfully soaking his shirt. "It was one dark night, my mother needed to leave the house and I begged her not to, she promised she wouldn't leave and then when I fell asleep, I woke up to the sound of the car and I saw the monster run after it. I couldn't protect my mother. I'm a useless daughter. I couldn't protect my mother and now she is dead because of me. She is dead because the monster won't leave me."

Soul doesn't interrupt me, he gently caress my hair while he listens to me. It feels so good to have him touching me and comforting me now when I can't control my own emotions.

"You aren't useless. You can't blame yourself for your mother leaving the house. This took place nine years ago. You were just a little girl. You couldn't possibly protect your mother from a monster they couldn't even see. They wouldn't believe you and―"

I hear a loud thud and I shoot up from Soul's lap and I see the monster― Kishin, jumping toward the window just to be blown backwards, falling back on the ground. The Kishin growls loudly and its claws clatter loudly in annoyance.

"Change of subject." Soul's eyes are still frozen where the Kishin had jumped toward the window. "Tell me everything about this Kishin. How long has it been doing this?"

Soul's hand is on my neck while his other hand is on my back, it reminds me how Soul always used to pull me into his embrace and hug me for minutes. I always felt so safe and sound in his arms, it always made me feel like I was wanted and needed.

Almost as if Soul read my mind, he slowly pulls me into his embrace and he supports my leg so my wound won't twist by turning my body toward him.

"I don't know when it came. It has always been there as long as I can remember. It was always there outside of my window looking at me, occasionally it would leave when it saw someone to kill before returning to my window again. I always knew it was dangerous and I have to stay away from it. Recently it has grown smarter. Yesterday it tricked me out of the house by pretending to go on a hunt for someone, it has started to say words and drive itself crazier. That is all I really do know about it." I whisper into his chest, feeling the comfort of his arms around me and the intoxicating smell of his stingy and spicy scent.

"Do you want me to tell you what I know about the Kishin?" Soul whispers into my ear.

A shiver runs down my spine and I find myself wrapping my arms around his waist. "Please." I sniffle and the tears seem to be gone after the sudden attack from the crazy Kishin.

"This Kishin must be very old and obsessed with you. He has grown some intelligence over the years and becoming the last stage of the Kishins that is when they gain the intelligence of a human and can control their own craziness. Ordinary Kishins can't control their maddening urges. They kill every human they see and take their soul. That is what the feed on. A Kishin is those who have lost their soul to the madness and now they want to get it back by devouring innocent souls, the problem is with that they can never go back to being human anymore. Even if they can control their urges, they won't ever be able to be human again since they will always be monsters." I can feel Soul's hand move from my back to my bandage before he gently caresses it with his thumb. "They make other Kishins by infecting humans with madness. When it cut you, you got infected with it, remember today, didn't you feel like you were just so mad at everyone and wanted to punch their teeth out?"

My eyes widen. That is exactly how I felt. I was so mad and I wanted to hurt everyone and get back at them somehow. So I felt like that because of the Kishin poison.

"Yeah, but why am I feeling fine now? What happened after I passed out? You never told me anything about that."

"You are fine right now because I gave you the antidote. I pure the madness that had gotten inside of your body, then I took you to your apartment and made some calls. Kid took care about your absence and Stein came over and took care about your wounds. They were very ugly and had managed to get infected. Stein got them cleaned out and stitched you up. Then I laid you to rest, first shot is always the most exhausted for those who have been purified."

I pull away from Soul's chest and look quizzically at him. "How did you save me from it? What do you mean first shot?"

Soul chuckles and removes his hand from my thigh. He lifts his hand and then, sparks flies from his hand. Yellow electricity course over his hand before it disappears. "With this. This is a meister's most trusted weapon. It's called Soul Force. This is what we use in order to get rid of the madness, from the Kishins and from other meisters. We shock you and the madness purges. The Kishin turns into a pile of ashes, but you stay whole and better than ever. The first time can cause unconsciousness but after a few times you will manage to stay conscious, although you will still feel pain from it." Soul's hand then gently cups my hipbone, gently caressing it with his thumb, sending shivers down my spine.

"What are you talking about? Meister? What is that and why are you talking like I will be hurt by one of them again?"

"A Meister is what you and I are along with the rest of my gang. We all can see Kishins and we fight them in order to protect everybody else. Kishins have a tendency to go after Meisters so more will come." Soul's eyes turn a deeper shade of red and his features turn serious. "That means you are in danger. You need to protect yourself against them or you will die."

I flinch away from him. "Soul―"

"I'm serious. You need to be able to defend yourself. You don't know their fighting style and you don't know how to shot your soul wavelength in order to kill them. Tomorrow after school, you are going to come with me to our training ground and I will teach you." Soul grabs my waist and holds it tightly in his hands, like if I was supposed to run away. "You are one of us and it's my duty to make sure you can protect yourself against them."

He was right by holding my waist, because I was going to walk away. So Soul only took care of me because I was this kind of Meister. I'm like him, so he only took care of me and was with me because I'm a Meister. I was never his rebound, I was an assignment, a burden. I was never wanted.

"I need time for myself. I need everything to sink in." I say and I try to contain my sadness of this newfound piece of unspoken information.

Soul nods. "Of course, you can take the bed, I will sleep on the couch."

He didn't notice the sorrow that I was feeling.


	6. Chapter VI

**Eventide **

**Chapter VI**

Everything felt odd that morning. The way Soul looked at me and the small touches. When Soul and I were together, I always thought those were touches of concern and comfort, but now they prove to be touches of protection just because I'm deadweight.

As Soul and I had finished eating our breakfast, the front door slams open and I hear muttering from a man.

"I hope you have made some coffee because I need one right now."

Soul sighs from the other side of the table while he runs a hand through his hair. "No, you know I had the night off. Go and make some yourself."

The unknown voice is revealed, he walks inside of the kitchen and it proves to be the man in the photo. He looks even more mature in reality. His posture is much better that Soul's, he walks with a straight back and his shoulders pulled back while Soul slouches and hunches with his shoulders. I swear in a few years he will have a hunch on his back.

"Who is this?" He asks politely, while he takes off his jacket, exposing a nice white shirt with a collar. He looks like the perfect gentleman, the first one in the entire city. Why didn't I meet him before Soul?

I smile toward him. "I'm Maka Albarn."

He smiles back and offers me his hand. "I'm Wes Evans, Soul's brother." I take his hand and I expect him to just shake it, but he plants a kiss on my knuckles.

He is such a gentleman!

"Okay!" Soul exclaims while he take my empty plate and his own. "I'm going to give Maka a ride. So, we got to leave or else you won't have enough time to get changed before the school bus arrives." Soul puts the plate in the sink. "I will be back in a few."

Wes nods and releases my hand. "It was nice to meet you Maka, I will see you around."

I blink in confusion when Soul takes my hand and tugs me to the hallway. He gives me my jacket and we are out the door before I know it. Things just feel awkward. He doesn't say anything and I don't want to talk. The only thing I say is just to give him directions to my home, or I give him directions to a house that _isn't_ mine. When I see him driving away, I walk the last bit to my house and I get ready for school.

I was spacing out. It was hard to concentrate with the new information about myself. I didn't even listen to what Hiro said on the bus and he noticed it. He kept talking and talking and I felt guilty for not listening. It was just, all of this, this supposedly new me as a "Meister". This life that Soul had explained about him and his gang go through, if they are really fighting against those things, I wouldn't want to be a part of it. I would rather live peacefully and a normal life, that is what I always have wanted. I would get myself killed if I fought against Kishins. My mother always disliked fights, she would be ashamed if I joined Soul's gang and did such things. I just can't do that.

The only thing I want to do as a Meister, is to kill the Kishin that patrols outside of my window. That thing murdered my mother, if I can kill it, I want to kill it and that will be it.

The dismissal bell rings and lunch has arrived. "So, are we going to go to the balcony to eat our lunch? It is beautiful weather today." Hiro says as he packs his books inside of his backpack.

"You know it's always sunny in Death City." I smile while I stand up from my seat. "But I can't eat there today, I overslept today and I didn't have time to make lunch. I will have to go to the cafeteria and buy something." I dig for my wallet out of my bag before I pick up my books.

"Okay, then we will eat inside of the cafeteria today." We both exit the classroom and we head toward my locker. "How are you and that Tsubaki chick getting along? I heard you snapped at her and the teacher pretty badly. What was up with that?"

Oh crap. More lies will be served. "Can we just go to the cafeteria first? I need some water and food before I have this talk." I say while I open my locker and leave my books and notebook inside of my locker before I close it.

"Sure, whatever makes you comfortable."

We both walk toward the cafeteria and as soon as I enter, I can feel Tsubaki's and Soul's stares burn into me from the far end of the cafeteria in their special corner that occupies by Soul's gang of Meisters. I grab one of the many trays and get a bottle of water along with a sandwich. I pay for the food. Turning around, my eyes lock with Soul and a shiver runs down my spine. They look at me with the same expression as always, boredom and neutrality. I'm never going to be able to solve the mystery of Soul.

Tearing my eyes away from Soul's, I walk toward a table at the opposite side of the cafeteria where Hiro and I take a seat at. "So, what happened with you yesterday?"

The plastic around my sandwich rustle as I break it, retrieving the sandwich from the bag. I take a bite and chew before I swallow it. Never talk with your mouth full my mother always used to tell me. "I had nightmares that day, terrible nightmares and I couldn't sleep. It was the lack of sleep that was talking. I'm very grumpy when I don't get the sleep I need. I was like a ticking bomb just waiting to explode, and I did."

Hiro nods while he takes a bite of his sandwich. "I see. No one knew where you had disappeared at lunch and the whole afternoon. I came to the balcony but you weren't there."

"I'm sorry I worried you, but I really needed to go home and catch up on sleep. I almost passed out in school." I take another bite of my food before I wash it down with my water.

"Don't worry about it." Hiro smiles reassuringly. "I was thinking since tomorrow it's Friday, we could do something after school. There is a new movie coming out and it has gotten great reviews. It might be worth checking it out."

I giggle and I finish my sandwich before I take sips of my water. "Sure, it sounds fun, but just so you know it won't be a date. I'm not ready for any dating yet."

Hiro nods while he grabs my trash along with his, starting to crush it. "It's alright. It will just be two friends hanging out." He forms the trash into a ball and throws it at the trashcan a few meters away. It goes right into the can and he smirks wide while he puffs his chest out with pride. "By the way, I was wondering why you are limping. Did you hurt yourself on something?" His blue eyes turn tenser and more serious. "Or did something hurt you?"

My eyes widen and my mouth hangs ajar. Does he know about the wounds? I know I haven't been able to hide it well, but by the tone of his voice, I have a feeling he is implying on Kishins. If he knows about them, then how come he isn't with Soul and his gang? Is he a Meister as well? If it is Soul's duty to take care of me, then won't it be his duty to take care of Hiro as well, or is he already fully trained and therefore doesn't need to be trained? Everything has turned into one giant mess recently.

"I―"

"Maka!" I almost jump out of my skin when Soul slides onto my side of the bench and sits unnecessary close to me. "I'm going to wait for you at your locker when school ends so we can get out of school together." For once I'm actually happy he popped up from nowhere since now I wouldn't have to lie to Hiro. It doesn't feel good to lie and certainly not to Hiro, he has been so kind toward me. It isn't okay to lie to him like this.

"Okay, but if you aren't there when I have gotten all of my stuff, I'm not going to sit around and wait. You screw up before, don't do it again."

Soul smirks, showing off his teeth. "You bet I will be waiting for _you_." I feel Soul's fingers gently caress my hip. "Hey Maka, Physical ed will start soon. We better start going or else we will be late."

I shiver and I put my hand over his, taking it away from my body. "It doesn't start in―"

"Maka." Soul says sternly. "It will start soon. We need to go." He says slowly and coldly.

Physical ed doesn't start soon at all, it is forty-five minutes until it starts, but judging on the tone he is speaking in, I guess he has something he need to speak with me.

"Okay." I turn to Hiro. "I will see you in class later."

He smiles and nods. "Yeah, see you."

Soul almost drags me out of the cafeteria away from Hiro. He doesn't say anything until he pushes me inside of a bathroom and locks it behind him. "Why haven't you told me about him?" His body almost looms over me in a dominant matter.

"Why should I have told you? We are nothing, I don't have the obligation to tell you anything about my life, much less who I'm hanging out with. He is a nice guy and actually talks about himself. He isn't like a wall I constantly have to fight against in order to try to get to know him, he is sincere and very kind. I like hanging out with him." I straighten my back but I'm at least a head shorter than him now when he has straightened his hunchback. I need to look confident and strong.

"You don't know who he is. Hiro isn't a "nice guy," he is far away from that. You shouldn't hang out with him, you don't know what he is capable of." Soul moves closer to me, looking down at me. "He is trying to manipulate you and get you on his side. All he says about me is lies. He is a lying snake and he will backstab you. He will betray you."

I snort and look away from Soul, crossing my arms over my chest. "He never said anything about you, everything doesn't have to revolve around you, Soul. He has never said anything bad about anyone. He has never tried to hurt me, he has been there for me and cheered me up. He is very caring. It is actually nice to be around someone that actually talks about himself and doesn't always try to fight me off."

Soul growls loudly while he takes a step back, running his hand through his hair. "I know I fucked up and I know I never talked a lot about myself, I already know I fucked up majorly."

"And you don't have to justify your actions. We aren't together. Just get over yourself and go back to Jaqueline. You two were always cl―"

Soul grabs my shoulders and he smashes his lips on mine. My mind goes blank as he kisses me, his lips moving deliciously against mine. His arms snake around my waist and pull me closer to his warm chest while he caresses my spine with his fingertips.

I can't resist Soul. Heck, I missed kissing him, I missed him touching me like this and being with him like this. I kiss him eagerly back and my fingers find his white untamable hair, pulling him closer to me. He opens my mouth and his tongue greets mine. His tongue doesn't move lustfully at all, he gently moves his tongue with mine as he holds me close to him. My nerve endings are on fire and all I can feel is his hands on me and his amazing lips on mine and his tongue in my mouth.

Soul presses me up against the wall and his hands are on my thighs, hoisting me up. On instinct I wrap my legs around his waist, clinging onto him for dear life. His whole body is pressing against me, I can feel the curve of his muscles through his shirt and his strong hands on my bump, giving it a squeeze.

A squeak mixed with a moan escapes my throat and Soul's kisses turns hungrily. He assaults my mouth while his hands rubs and squeezes my behind, earning more moans which he successfully cuts off with his mouth.

Slowly I open my eyes and is met by Soul's closed ones. This isn't right. We aren't together.

I remove my mouth from his and instead his mouth finds my neck, kissing it deliciously. His teeth caress my skin and licks it before he plants kisses on it.

"Stop." I pant out. Eyes half lidded with the pleasure of the assault. "This is wrong."

"This isn't wrong. This is so right it couldn't get any more right." Soul murmurs against my skin while he kisses my neck.

"No, Soul." I unwrap my legs from his waist and untangle my fingers from his hair. "We aren't together. I don't want to be doing this after what you did." I hate myself for tearing up. "I don't want to be with you like this when you hurt me like that."

It seems to get Soul's attentions. He pulls away from my neck and instead pulls me into a gentle hug. "I'm sorry. I'm so terribly sorry Maka. I shouldn't have done that." He caresses my back.

I cry into his chest and find myself trembling. How can I be in his arms, letting him comfort me when he is the reason for my tears. I can't stay away from Soul. Not even after he hurt me so, but I can keep him away from me in a romantic matter. I can't let him hurt me again. I simply can't. Not under any circumstances can I give him the chance to hurt me again.


	7. Chapter VII

**Eventide **

**Chapter VII**

Soul did as he promised. As soon as I exit my classroom, I catch a glimpse of his white hair and his smirk. I can't help but giving him a tiny smile as I walk up to him.

"How was class?" Soul asks, moving aside from my locker.

"Good I guess, I got more homework." I say while I concentrate on unlocking my locker. It slides open and I pull out my homework and stuff them into my bag before I grab my jacket, putting it on.

Soul chuckles, closing the locker for me. "You are the only student who will have them finished on time. You have and will always be a very special person." Soul's arm wraps around my shoulders, pulling me close to his side while he leads me away from my locker.

"I got to. Our senior year is coming to an end and I don't know about you, but I want to get into college. I got to work hard to get into my first choice and take the courses I want to take." It feels so good being in Soul's arms, but I can't risk getting him close to me again. I grab his hand and removes it from my shoulders.

"You are such a nerd. A very cute nerd." Soul opens the door to the exit of Shibusen High and leads me down the stairs to his bike. "My favorite nerd of all of them." We find his motorcycle and he hands me his helmet. I put it on without asking anything. He revives the bike and I get on it, holding onto my seat instead of holding onto Soul. He drives away and it proves harder to hold onto the seat since I notice he is breaking more agressive so I would press against his chest and he turns rougher so I would automatically cling onto him, but I won't let him get that pleasure.

Fifteen minutes later, Soul pulls into an abandon road, it doesn't even look like a road. It looks more like grass that has been stomped down repeatedly. He follows no track at all as he keeps driving. After driving a curvy nonexistent road, a red barn comes into view along with other cars parked outside of the barn.

Soul stops the bike in front of the barn and kills the engine.

I try to get off the helmet but the clip has tangled into my hair.

"Let me help you with that." Soul turns around on his bike, facing me while he helps me get the helmet off of my head. His face is so near me and his eyes are focused on the clips. Gently he manages to work my hair out of it and successfully get the helmet off of my head. "There." He says while he puts away the helmet on the bike. He gets off the bike and I follow him suit. "This is our training ground. We train here every afternoon and prepare ourselves for the night."

We slowly walk toward the very large barn which could use a new layer of paint. "So is this where you always escape to?"

Soul nods. "Yeah, this is our place as Meisters to be who we are, where we don't have to think about our words or hold back our powers. This is sort of our sanctuary. Since we are fighting Kishins in teams, we need to always be comparable with all of the Meisters. You never know who we have to team up with."

Soul opens the door to the barn and I'm met with an image I never thought I would see with my own eyes. I see all of the Meisters in Soul's gang are gathered there, including Tsubaki and Wes and some other characters that I don't recognize.

"Maka!" I flinch when I hear the blue-haired idiot scream my name. "So you are finally with us, huh?" He runs up to me with his shirt gone. What is the deal with Meisters and shirts? Don't they know they are supposed to _wear_ them instead of them lying on the ground and collecting dust? "And by the way," I didn't expect it. His fist connects with my jaw and my head snaps toward the side. Did he just _punch_ me? "That's for hurting Tsubaki!"

"BLACK*STAR!" Soul exclaims and pushes him away from me. "You can't go and fucking punch her! She was under the influence of the madness! What do you expect her to do?!"

"Chill man. She is a Meisters. Meisters can take pain." Black*Star defends by holding up his hands in submission.

It is obvious Soul is the alpha since Black*Star becomes the underdog when Soul went up against him. "She is just as any other human. She doesn't know how to deal with pain or shot her Soul Wavelength. She can't do any Meister stuff except see Kishins." Soul grabs ahold of his neck and brings him closer to him, baring his teeth threateningly like a wolf. "Now apologize to her." He pushes Black*Star roughly toward me and he almost trips over his feet from the force.

"Fine, fine man. You need to chill." Black*Star rubs his neck. So Soul did hold his neck hard. "I'm sorry, okay, you just hurt Tsubaki and I hate seeing her cry."

"Black*Star." Tsubaki walks from her seat at the end of the barn and walks over to him. "It is alright. Maka was hurt and upset and I was a terrible friend to her. I deserved the treatment I got and she had madness in her body. She didn't mean to act like that around me." Tsubaki explains and that is the first time I hear her voice since our fight. The day after Soul and I broke up.

"I will go and change my clothes. Maka, I think you and Tsubaki have some things to sort out." Soul walks away after he pats my shoulder reassuringly.

Tsubaki slowly moves toward me while Soul grabs a hold of Black*Star and drags him away, Black*Star shouting loudly disagreements and how Tsubaki needs him. I giggle a little at the view of Soul dragging him away before Tsubaki cuts me off. "Can you forgive me Maka? I should have considered your feelings more than accuse you like that."

I smile toward Tsubaki and I nod. "I forgive you. I was stupid for holding you against it like that. You have your right to express your own thoughts and feelings and you do know Soul more than I do and you two have been friends much longer than he and I. I should have respected your own thoughts instead of blowing up like that. Can you please forgive me?"

She smiles wide and pulls me into a hug which I return immediately. "Of course I do. But are you okay with me talking about Soul's past with relationship? There is something I want to tell you."

I pull away and blink with confusion. "Okay, I guess. What is it?"

Tsubaki grabs my hand. "We will talk outside." She drags me outside of the barn and closes the doors behind us. "I still think Soul didn't cheat on you, he had always made sure to break up with his girlfriends before he moved on to a new one. He hates cheaters and he wouldn't become what he hates."

I sigh loudly. Here we go again. "I still think he cheated Tsubaki. He confessed to me that he did cheat and you know Jaqueline likes him. He just can't be in a relationship. He isn't a relationship sticker."

"I agree to a certain degree. Soul isn't a sticker when it comes to relationships, but he isn't a cheater. I don't know why he would say he cheated, but I know he wouldn't cheat on you. He has been avoiding Jaqueline as well as he can and he always talks about you around here. He constantly looks at his phone just hoping that you would call or text him. I know he doesn't show it, but he is sad." Tsubaki grabs my shoulders. "Whatever happens, I think you need to talk to Soul about your relationship. You need to talk about Jaqueline and where you both stand and want."

I sigh and look away from Tsubaki. "I'm fine without him. I don't want to go back to him because I don't know him. He is almost like a stranger to me and I want someone who can actually talk to me about himself and doesn't have to be on their toes around me. I never loved him or anything. I really liked him but I never was attached to him. I'm better off without him and searching for someone that is a person and not a wall."

"I see you have already made up our mind." Tsubaki says and releases my shoulders. "Just keep an open mind, okay? You never know what will happen in this world."

"Tsubaki." She is about to walk away when I grab her wrist. "Can you see them? The Kishins?"

Tsubaki nods. "Yeah, but I'm not a Meister like Black*Star or Soul, I'm not a fighter. I'm the medic in our group. It is my job to insert my Soul Wavelength into those who have been infected and get the injured either off the battlefield or heal them at the place."

So there are other types of Meisters as well, there isn't just fighting Meisters. "Is there other types of Meisters than fighting Meisters and medic Meisters?"

Tsubaki's face brightens up. "I'm glad you asked." She releases my hand and holds both of hers in front of herself. "Every Meister is grouped after the Meister's own Soul wavelength. The fighting Meisters have a stronger purifying wavelength and field medics like I have a weaker purifying wavelength, but they do have a healing wavelength." Tsuabki's hands then start to glow a faint blue color. "See, this is what a healing wavelength looks like. As soon as I put my hands over a wound, they slowly start healing and closing up." The faint blue glow disappears from her hands and she lowers them. "Then there are the doctor Meisters. Those are the ones who have the strongest healing wavelength. They are the ones that take care of the critical wounds since their wavelength can heal wounds much faster than medic Meisters, although, they don't have a Soul Force. They can't purify other meisters or kill Kishins. Do you understand?"

I nod slowly. "Yeah, I think I understand. So there are three types of Meisters, medic, doctor and fighter."

Tsubaki nods with a bright smile on her face. "Yes, exactly, as soon as you have managed to draw out your Soul Wavelength then we will know which category you will fall under."

My mouth feels bitter. Being a Meister is not what I want in life, I just want to get the Kishin away and move on. I don't want to be some kind of warrior or medic in a battle against the Kishins. "Tsubaki, I―"

The door to the barn cuts me off and out walks Soul in a pair of shorts and, of course, no shirt. They really can't wear a shirt. "There you are. We are about to start training." Soul smirks wide. "What were you two talking about?"

"Nothing important really, I just explained to her the types of Meisters there is and it is her wavelength that determines which kind of Meister she is." Tsubaki smiles toward me, giving me a wink, a wink that means she will keep our conversation a secret.

I smile back to Tsubaki with appreciation in my eyes.

"Okay, then come on Maka. Hopefully we will manage to get to know which type of Meister you are today." Soul grabs my hand, entwines our fingers while he pulls me inside of the barn. Tsubaki smiles from behind as she crosses her arms over her chest. Oh I know exactly what she is thinking, she is pleased with Soul's action.

However, I'm not pleased.

I retrieve my hand from his hand and give us some more space, but Soul has other plans. He moves closer to me but he doesn't touch me. "We are going to be in a different room. We will need some peace and quiet." We walk straight through the training grounds.

A boy with black braids whose name is Kilik is in the boxing ring with a pair of gloves on, going up against a girl with short blond hair. She has a wicked smile on her face, she has cut her hair since I saw her. Before she had long hair like her sister, but now it is short. That is definitely Patty.

Patty's blond sister stands with her gun and shoots at the targets alongside Death the Kid. He has a very interesting fighting style since he holds two guns and shoots with his pinkie fingers. It must be very exhausting since the guns shoot back in his hands and pulling the triggers seems to be a very difficult thing to do.

The gym seems to be the part of the barn that is the most occupied. Harver is lifting himself up on a bar fast and his back is glistering with sweat, another male who doesn't know what a shirt is. Chrona is doing push-ups, and finally, a guy who knows how to wear a shirt. On the treadmill, Jaqueline keeps running and running, her hair is in a ponytail and she is wearing skimpy gym clothes, only short shorts and a sport bra, which her nipples are visible through.

She gives me a glare when Soul opens a door and holds it open to me. She isn't pleased at all, she is the one who won, she should be happy. She got Soul.

I walk inside of the room. It is soundproof since the walls are covered with fabric and as soon as Soul shuts the door, the sound of the weights and Kilik and Patty hitting each other, it is all just gone.

"You won't be disturbed in here." Soul walks up to the single bed inside of the room and takes a seat on it. "Don't worry, I won't do anything funny. This room usually is used for resting." Soul pats the space on the bed beside him. "Come here. It is more comfortable sitting down that standing up."

I would rather disobey him and stand on my spot, but reluctantly I take a seat beside him. "Close your eyes."

If I want to be able to kill the Kishin, I will need to learn how to do this Soul Force thing. First, I will have to cross my fingers and hope I'm not the doctor type of Meister. Slowly I close my eyes.

"Souls are almost like our hearts, they are an extra heart sort of, but they aren't physical hearts, they are our mental hearts. Our soul beat at the same time with our heart." Soul moves on the bed so he is facing me. His hand finds mine and he puts my hand over his. "The first thing I want you to do is feel your heartbeat. Tap the rhythm of it on my hand."

"That's it?"

"For now, that is what I want you to do."

It is quite distracting to have Soul's hand in mine. My heart speeds up and it makes it more difficult to follow the rhythm of it. At first, I tap my finger very erratic, but as I slowly breathe and really find the pace of my heart, it becomes easier to tap it against Soul's hand.

"Good, now comes the difficult part, I want you to find your soul's rhythm. You know it is in the same pace as your heart, but you really have to feel your own soul because there is a difference to those two beats. I want you to tell me what it is when you find your soul's wavelength."

"Can't you just tell me? It might be easier to find it then."

Soul chuckles and I can smell his spicy scent. He is much closer now. "No can do. All soul wavelengths are different so I can't really help you on that, but there is something that separates the soul from the heart and that is something you need to discover yourself."

With the help of the tapping against Soul's hand, I tried to feel something underneath the heartbeat, something new that I had to discover. My heart beat in my chest, pumping blood through my body. What am I supposed to feel? All I can feel is my flesh and blood, no soul or this wavelength that my soul is supposed to give off. All I can feel is my own heartbeat, nothing more. What am I even supposed to be looking for?

"Okay, you know what." Soul says and gently I open my eyes. He has definitely moved closer to me since our thighs are almost touching and his face is really close to mine. "If I'm going to get you home before dark falls, we have to leave soon." Soul leans closer to me. "But one last thing, this might help you find your soul's wavelength." I freeze. Soul's hand finds my cheek and his forehead rests on top of mine. "Relax." He whispers while he caresses my cheek with his thumb. "Close your eyes."

I don't have a clue what he is doing, but I close my eyes and force myself to calm down by talking deep breaths. That's when I felt it, soothing waves coming at me. It was like feeling the regular waves of water hit me, just that it didn't hit me physically. I felt it with my soul. It is located right in the middle of my chest, below my collarbones.

"Can you feel it? Can you feel my soul wavelength?" Soul murmurs and I feel his breath on my lips.

I shiver. "Yes. I can feel it."

"Good." Slowly the feeling of waves disappears, but instead something else comes; his lips. His hand wanders to my neck and pushes our lips closer to each other's. He kisses me eagerly, his other hand finds my waist and pulls me closer to him.

It is surreal. I should be used to kissing Soul, but not now when we aren't a couple. He keeps pulling me into kisses, touching me like we are an item, looking at me with those eyes of his with such mystery, proving that I know nothing about him. Things have changed, I admit that, I now know where he lives and he has a brother, but I still miss so much about him. Kissing him is like kissing a wall, just someone that I don't know. I can't be with him like this, he is a stranger who cheated on me. That kind of person isn't welcomed in my life.

I look away from him, breaking our lips apart. "You can't keep doing this. This is not fair to me."

"What do you mean?" He asks.

I don't dare to look at him. My lips are throbbing and I bet they are swollen as well. "This, what you are doing. It isn't fair to me." I pull Soul's hands from my cheek and hip and place them on his own legs. I scoot away from him in order to get some space between us. "You can't keep kissing me and touching me like this when you are the one who hurt me. You're hurting me by doing this and I don't deserve to be used like this."

"So you think I'm using you for my own personal pleasure?"

"That is what I don't know since I don't know you, but that is what it feels like." I get up from the bed. "Just, take me home, save your hands for yourself and don't kiss me again."

Soul sighs. "Okay. You can practice at home, just so you know, we will return at night and take care of the―"

That is when I meet his eyes. "No! You don't touch it! That monster killed my mother! I'm going to be the one to kill it. You don't dare touch it or I will never forgive you!"

Soul's eyes aren't wide, but they are larger than usual. "We don't even know if you have the wavelength to kill a Kishin."

"And you aren't going to touch it. If it proves that I don't have the wavelength, I'm still going to be there and if it disappears, you and everybody else are dead to me."


	8. Chapter VIII

**Eventide **

**Chapter VIII**

"Okay students!" Our teacher Sid in Physical ed says. "Today we have a special student with us." The door to the gym opens and a person all dressed in white protective gear comes inside.

Tsubaki and I are standing at the front of the group with students and I can feel Soul staring into my neck, leaving two hot spots. Since I told him off, he hasn't touched me. He didn't break hard when I rode on his bike in order to get close to him. At lunch I sat with Tsubaki and Hiro while Soul sat far away from me beside Black*Star. Hiro and Soul definitely did _not_ like each other. They both ignored each other while Black*Star could give Hiro hateful looks.

"Today you will try out some sword fighting." Immediately the guys start to cheer happily and clap their hands. "I know you wanted it so now shut up so we can continue with the exercise. You are wasting time." The guys, except for Soul and his gang had cheered, which I understand, they fight with swords and weapons daily. This isn't anything new for them. The guys quickly shut up and look kind of offended. "I borrowed a student from the martial arts class so he will be the one to lead the class. You can introduce yourself."

The man dressed in white takes off his helmet and… it's Hiro. He smiles wide toward me. "My name is Hiro the Brave. I'm taking the martial art class and Sid asked me to do a lesson for you guys, so yeah, that's it." Hiro kneels down toward a bag that Sid had brought with him earlier and took out two swords. "The swords are very dull, but if you are hit, it can still hurt so I want all of you to go and put on the protective gear. It is inside of the gear room."

The guys all run inside at ones while Tsubaki and I walk inside of the gear room casually. The guys rip the gear off the walls and brings it out where they then put them on. It is kind of hard knowing which one to take because all of them are _really_ large. I grab the smallest they have and put it on outside of the gear room.

"Hey Maka." I turn around and find Hiro standing there with two swords in his hand. "I was wondering if you could be my partner, you know, show some stuff what you are going to be doing." Hiro offers me a sword, which I take, it is much heavier than I thought it would be. It will be hard to swing it around.

"Sure, you never said you took martial arts classes."

Hiro smirks while we head back toward the group. "Ditto, I don't know all of the classes you are taking, you know just like you don't know all of the classes I'm taking." Hiro leads me toward the front of the classroom and it is kind of embarrassing standing there in front of the class. Soul doesn't seem very happy because his mouth is shaped into a line and his face is tense.

"Maka will help me with the exercise. So you can team up in groups of two."

I thought Soul and Black*Star would team up, but Soul didn't even give him a single look and instead went up to me and Hiro. "The class are even to be divided in groups of two." He says without looking at Hiro.

"Okay, then you will be with Maka, but I will borrow her to demonstrate what you will be doing."

"No." Soul says.

"What do you mean no?" I snap at him. What kind of trick is he pulling this time?

"You are going to demonstrate with me. Not her."

"You aren't the one to make the calls. I'm the one who is leading the class. You follow my instructions and it is Maka I will demonstrate with." Hiro narrows his eyes at Soul and the space between them reduces. Oh, it looks like they are going to fight.

"You son of a―"

"Stop." Quickly I get between them and push them away from each other. "We are in class. Soul, Hiro is the one in charge. Let him lead. Don't go and pick on him." Soul growls and looks very displeased. He crosses his arms over his chest and takes a step backwards.

"Fine."

"Good, now I'm going to show you how to hold a proper posture." Hiro shows the whole class how to hold the sword correctly and have a nice stance. Of course the ones in Soul's group nail it immediately along with Soul. Black*Star and Tsubaki did group up and they seem awfully close to each other and may I say, kind of kinky with the sword. Black*Star stands really close to Tsubaki while she gently caresses his sword. I bet Black*Star would want her to stroke something else than the sword.

It was awfully awkward being around Soul. During all of the exercises he kept looking at me with those kinds of eyes. Eyes that send shiver down my spine with want to close the distance between us and kiss me passionately. The way his muscles curve underneath his shirt, stretched and moved was utterly delicious as he jabbed his sword at mine and successfully got my sword to fly through the air before he caught it in his hand skillfully.

"You aren't concentrating." Soul says while we stand in front of each other. He hands me back my sword, which I quickly accept without touching his hand. "Want to tell me what is on your mind?"

How the heck did he know that? I'm wearing the protective gear, which Soul refused to wear, it covers my whole body and my face. He can't possibly see that I'm not focusing. "I'm fine. You are just imagining things." I circulate toward the left and he follows my lead, sword raised and ready to leap toward me.

"You can't cover it up. I can see you are far away from here, tell me, what is going on? You can tell me anything." That is the problem. I _can't_ tell him everything. We aren't even supposed to be around each other because I'm mad at him and I want to hate his guts, but I can't. I just can't hate him for what he did toward me. It is so hard to stay away from him especially when he is like this, all kind and concern about me. I hate him for making me feel this way, I'm not supposed to feel safe and well in his presence, I'm supposed to want to run away and never see him again, but then again, I can't stay away from his eyes, his beautiful scarlet eyes. They truly are intoxicating.

"Just stop it." I say leaping toward him with my sword but he quickly parry by blocking my attack and switch places with me. "Stop acting concern when I know you never cared about me. Just stop with this whole charade. I told you to stop hurting me but you keep doing it again and again. Haven't you had enough of it all?"

Soul sighs loudly, running his free hand through his hair, a very Soul-like habit. "Maka, I'm not going to stop with anything since I do sincerely care about you. I did care about you all along and I'm sorry that I hurt you, but I'm not going to stay away because you know what you are and you are one of us and we stand up for each other. I'm not going to leave anytime soon."

His eyes. They are looking at me like that again. With concern and care. Why does he always have to do this? I hate it. Why does he have to play with my heart like this? "See! You only cared about me because I was one of you. You never actually cared about me as a person. It was all because of your damned duty. Do you even know how much that hurts?"

"I never―" Soul lets go of his sword and it clatters as it hits the ground. He takes a step toward me and I quickly point my sword to his chest. He looks between the sword digging into his shirt and me. That is when he slaps the sword away with the back of his hand and pulls me into a rough hug. "Listen to me. I was never with you because of some damn duty that you keep telling yourself. I was with you because I genuinely liked you. You are an awesome chick and very fun to be with. You are so interesting and―"

I can't help but to cry. Tears trickle down my cheeks and I'm very grateful for wearing the helmet. "Stop Soul!" I push him away from my chest. "Just stop playing with me! I'm not your personal toy you can keep toying with!"

"Maka, just let me explain―"

"No! I don't want to hear it!" I find myself walking away from Soul and the class. I exit the classroom and find a bathroom I lock myself inside. The tears trickle down my cheeks, while my heart bleeds.

He just had to play with my heart like this, haven't I already done enough for him? He was tired of being with me and playing with me, he went back to Jaqueline but still he keeps doing this to me. It is very hurtful and I can't take this kind of treatment from him. I can't be close to him knowing that he has hurt me before and he will do it again and again and again. I can't do that, that's just one of the things I can't do. What is he expecting me to do? He is just around there and hurt me with his presence alone, what is it he is trying to achieve by doing this?

I don't know, but he is trying to get something out of me. We never went the whole way, so is that what he wants? My virginity? Is all he cares about sex? It does seem like him since he couldn't keep it in his pants.

I can't keep sitting like this and trying to analyze him. He is a mystery and I know he is the only one I won't ever be able to figure out with the help of logic, and quite frankly, I don't want to know him. I don't want to know what drives him to do such horrible things and what it is that keeps him going. I don't want to know Soul. I need to break everything off with him. I will no longer train with him, I won't look at him. I won't let him come close to me.

Yeah, that seems like a good plan of attack.

After I wiped away the tears and my eyes didn't look so puffy, I walk out of the bathroom and heads toward the gym where our class takes place. I hope I didn't worry Hiro or Tsubaki. They must have seen me walk away.

Entering the classroom, I was not expecting to find this, the whole class standing in a half circle and cheering loudly and whistles. When I walk up to them and elbow myself to the front, I shouldn't be surprised when I see Hiro and Soul having their swords raised toward the others. Hiro's hair is ruffled and his helmet lies forgotten on the ground. Soul has a bruise on his cheek and his hair is even messier than it usually is. They are fighting and I really shouldn't be surprised since there has always been tension between them which would have to release sometime. This just happened to be the time.

Soul looks absolutely pissed off, he clenches the sword in his hands and if looks could kill, he would have killed Hiro over and over.

They leap toward each other, growling loudly. Their swords clash and I can barely keep up with them. All I hear is the clatter of their swords. They aren't playing around, they are going at each other with everything they got. If someone doesn't stop them, then they might end up killing each other.

I'm about to throw myself into the fight but then a hand lays on my shoulder, pulling me back. "This is their fight." I look over my shoulder, seeing Black*Star and Tsubaki. "Soul and Hiro need this. Don't interfere."

"What?" I look baffled at Black*Star. "But they will end up really hurting each other if this keeps going!"

"They need this to close their wounds. They can't move on if this doesn't happen."

Move on from _what_ exactly? So they did know each other before and now they hate each other because of it. What did they do toward the other?

Soul kicks Hiro in the stomach which sends him flying.

"HIRO!" I exclaim and I can no longer stand and watch them keep fighting like this. I run up to Hiro and he smiles weakly toward me.

"Oh, hi Maka, I didn't know you came back. Did you enjoy the show?" He looks kind of gone. His eyes are moving in circles and I swear I see stars over his head.

"Idiot! That wasn't a show! You were going at each other like you were going to kill each other!" I put my hand over his. "Are you hurt? Do you need to visit the nurse's office?"

"Don't worry about me." Hiro gently sits while he rubs his back. "I'm fine. I just need to walk it off. I will be fine in a couple of minutes."

"I'm glad to hear that." I smile toward him before I turn toward Soul who stands a couple feet away from us, completely dumbfounded. I glare at him. "Don't you know better than to engage in a fight like this? You two are crazy!"

"But he―"

"No buts!" I stand up and glare at him. "You should know better! I can't believe you would actually hurt someone like this! You are unbelievable!" I help Hiro up on his feet and he starts to walk away, winching in pain. "I have had enough of your stunts, just leave me alone already! I don't want anything to do with you!"

"Just let me explain―" Soul looks pleadingly at me. Wow, I can actually read what he is feeling for once, but it is too late now.

"No! You could have explained a long time ago but you chose to keep everything a secret! I'm sick and tired of you! Just do me a favor and leave me alone! I don't care about you anymore! I don't want to see you ever again!" I turn on me heel and catch up with Hiro, leaving Soul and the whole class behind who had silently watched everything unfold.


	9. Chapter IX

**Eventide **

**Chapter IX**

Soul and Hiro had to go to the office and they both had been suspended from school for a whole week. I had waited outside of the headmaster's office for Hiro to come out and when he finally did, so did Soul.

He had looked at me with those eyes of his, pleading me to get closer to him and talk to him, to let him explain, but I simply looked the other way. I can't let him keep controlling my feelings and my actions, from now on I'm going to be the one in charge of myself. I can't be manipulated by him ever again.

"So, what do you want to order?" Hiro says, successfully snapping me out of my thoughts.

"Oh." Quickly I scan through the menu. Pasta, fish, meat, there were all kinds of foods to a good price. "I think I will go with the pasta dish."

"That one sounds very good." Hiro's eyes wanders along the pages of the menu. They light up and a smile spread on his face. "I think I will go with the steak."

We sit in an ordinary restaurant on the underground level with walls like the ones in a cave, with touches on the walls and red table clothes. Okay, maybe not ordinary, maybe slightly over the ordinary with a slight touch of fancy in it.

It doesn't take long for the waiter to come and take our orders and return with our drinks a couple of minutes when the waiter had disappeared. I take a sip of my ice-cold tap water while Hiro takes a large gulp of his cola. "There is something I want to talk about." Hiro says while he looks at the dark and cozy cave inspired restaurant.

"Sure, what is it?"

Hiro's eyes wander to mine, he gazes seriously at me. "Soul has told you about Meisters and Kishins, right?"

My eyes widen. This confirms everything, he does know about them. "Yeah, Soul has. He told me about the types of Meisters along with the different Soul Wavelengths. Right now I'm trying to feel my own soul." Why not be completely honest about it now when its confirmed?

Hiro nods interestingly. "Can you tell me exactly what kind of Soul Wavelengths there are?"

I raise my eyebrow. Why does he want me to do that? "There are three types of wavelengths, the fighter, medic and doctor wavelengths. They are―"

"Did he only tell you about them? Nothing about the fourth?" He doesn't look even the slightest surprised.

A fourth? If there was a forth wouldn't Soul have told me? Tsubaki should have told me that at least. "No, what are you talking about a fourth wavelength? What is that one?"

"I'm not surprised he didn't tell you about it." Hiro chuckles and leans back in his chair. "The fourth wavelength is the most powerful and it is really rare among Meisters. Those who have that kind of souls we call Grigori. Grigori Meisters are those who have the strongest purifying wavelength. Their wavelength is so strong it can slow down and even stop the madness from spreading in their bodies. Grigories are the ones the Kishins long for the most since they are the ones that "purifies" their souls the most, when in fact they don't do anything to their own souls."

"Where are you going with this? Why are you telling me this?" I ask.

Hiro smirks, leaning closer to me. "Let me tell you, people who have gotten madness into their body, they aren't able to walk around like you managed. They drop to the ground as quick as it has gotten inside of their bodies and the madness paralyzes their bodies. It would take them an hour before they turn into a Kishin. While you, you went on for hours, you were able to walk around almost like usual and it took hours before you broke down but the madness was far away from taking over your body."

"What are you saying?"

"What I am saying is, I'm not one-hundred percent sure and I bet so is Soul's group, but there is a strong possibility that you are a Grigori Meister."

I? A Grigori Meister? "If I am a Grigori Meister, does that mean I will be able to kill Kishins with my Soul Force?"

Hiro nods. "Absolutely. Grigori Meisters are the strongest fighters. A normal Fight Meister would take near a minute before the Kishin would die, but a Grigori, it only takes a few seconds. Some Grigories are so strong they can kill a Kishin with just a simple touch." Hiro leans toward me and his eyes are tense. "Everyone wants a Grigori Meister in their group. You aren't just in danger for being killed by a Kishin, but from other Meisters as well." Hiro lays his hand over mine. "You are very lucky you have been able to conceal your wavelength so well. It wasn't until I had been hanging around you a lot I felt small sparks of your Grigori soul. I'm still not sure but it has high purifying wavelength."

I blush and I try to look away from Hiro, but his blue eyes as enchanted me. "What will I do? What am I supposed to do?"

Hiro smirks. "What are you going to do? Learn to defend yourself and conceal your wavelength of course. You need to keep your soul a secret from everyone or else people will hunt you down. This might sound scary, but you need to learn how to survive in this world."

My heart beats fast and hard in my throat and it feels like I'm going to pass out. So much information in so little time. "Why me Hiro? Why did I have to get this sort of soul? I just want a normal life."

"I'm sorry Maka, you can't change your soul with some fancy plastic surgery, you are a Grigori and you need protection. Maka, let me help you with your soul wavelength."

Without even thinking, I nod. "Please, I don't want to die. I need to take care of my father."

"I understand and I will help you with it. It is too dangerous to do soul practice in public since you never know if a Meister of a different group is around."

If this is true, why didn't Soul tell me this? Why didn't Tsubaki tell me? There must be a reason for them to keep it a secret, but I thought Soul had finally started to open up to me but that was just pure crap. A large pile of stinky crap a dog newly made.

I run my hand through my hair and the waiter comes with our food, except that I had lost my appetite. Images of other people coming after me and my father filled my mind, how they broke into my home and threatened my father, my drunken father. He may hate me, but he is still my father and I love him. I can't let my father suffer more because of the Kishins. I need to protect him that is my duty for being cursed with this soul, my mother died because of it, now I need to protect my father with everything I got.

"Hiro." I play around with my pasta. "Can we please leave? It is going to get dark soon and I really want to be home now."

"Yeah, sure."

Hiro got me a box which I put my food in it. We got up on the ground level of the restaurant again and as soon as I see the outside, fear paralyses me.

"This isn't supposed to happen." I say and quickly look at my watch. "It is still an hour left before sunset! So how can it already be dark?"

The outside is already dark. The moon is already out and the sky is a dark blue, not even a slightest sign that the sun has just gone out. Outside of the restaurant I hear the sound of the claws of my Kishin drag against the hard concrete. It doesn't take long until I see the massive body of the Kishin come into view, leaving a trail of saliva behind.

"Oh no." fear grows in my body and I take a step backwards. "Will it be able to get inside?"

The people eating on the ground level give me weird looks but I don't pay any attention to them. My eyes are lock at the Kishin licking its lips and his claws clatter in excitement. "Don't worry. He won't be able to get inside." Hiro puts his hand on my back comfortingly. "The restaurant is going to close in two hours then we will be forced to leave the restaurant. We will have to leave the building at one point and that Kishin won't leave until the sun comes out or till we come out."

This isn't good at all. I'm going to have to leave, and when we do, it will kill me. It is far too fast and now when it has gotten a taste of the main course Maka Albarn, he will be driven to get me once and for all. My father's apartment is too far away for me to run to unharmed and we both came here by foot so there won't be a vehicle.

This is the end.

Tears prickle my eyes. "What are we going to do? It won't leave, it will kill us."

Hiro's arm crawls around my waist and pulls me close to him. "Don't worry about it." Hiro grabs my hand with his free hand and puts it on his hip. Something hard shapes his pocket. "I'm always armed. There is a fast food restaurant that is pretty close to here and it is open until sunrise. I will keep the Kishin busy while you run. You don't look back, you just run. Don't worry about me, I promise you I will catch up with you."

"What if―"

"No, don't think about me. You will run. You can't fight it. You will only be a burden if you stay. You will run, understand?" Hiro says roughly, his nails digging into my waist.

I gap. It is true. I can't do anything. I don't know how to fight or handle a weapon. I don't even know if I would be able to stab the Kishin, it is alive and I have never hurt anything, not even stingers when I have been stung. How will I be able to kill something like that?

I sniffle and I feel tears trickle down my cheeks. "I― I understand." My heart beats in my chest so hard it feels like it is going to pop out and walk away. "I'm scared." My whole body trembles like a vibrator. My kneecaps are nonexistent and if I were to take a step forward, I would fall down to the ground and turn into a mush of fear.

Hiro's grip on me tightens. "I understand, believe me, I do. Even if you are scared, you need to get a grip over it or else the fear will paralyze you and you will end up dead. It is scary but you can't let yourself die because of your own fear. Claim your right to live by getting control over your fear. Start by closing your eyes and taking deep breaths."

My eyes slowly shut and I take long and shaky breaths. I hear the Kishin growl and the claws clatter hungrily. I need to ignore it and focus on my own breathing, focus on something else that doesn't revolve around the Kishin.

For every breath I take, the sound of the Kishin reduces and the sound of my heart's powerful beats echo in my ears. The sound of oxygen filling my lungs to the strong and steady heartbeat that pumps out the blood. My eyes almost widen when I feel an unfamiliar wave. My heart beats hard at my sudden shock and there it is again, another wave. My heart beats again and another wave comes, I know what this is. This is my soul. It feels so unlike my heartbeat, while I feel my heart beat, my soul is like a gentle wave hitting my skin. Is this what Soul wanted me to find?

"Maka." Hiro snaps me out and the waves of my own soul stops caress my skin. "We are going to head out. Remember, run, don't look back."

I nod slowly. "Right." I'm ready.

The dinning guests in the restaurant look even weirder at me. They must have thought I got a panic attack or something.

Hiro opens the door out of the restaurant and the Kishin growls loudly. Hiro quickly fish up his knife out of his pocket and he blocks me from the Kishin. Quickly I get behind him and starts running in full speed toward the fast food restaurant. Just looking outside of a window is much difference than actually being outside.

It is much cooler outside and the darkness is thicker and scarier. The moon stares down at me and the sound of the leaves rustling gives me the chills. All that is missing is chains and white sheet monsters. If Kishins exists, then maybe ghosts do too.

A gasp escapes my throat when suddenly _another_ Kishin pops up right in front of me. This Kishin doesn't have a carrot nose like my Kishin has, this one has a short dog-like nose which almost goes _inwards_ in its head with a bright purple nose. Its eyes are red as the other one.

It gurgles loudly and saliva mixed with blood pours from its mouth. That is when I notice the fresh blood around its mouth and knife- like claws.

It has eaten someone's soul.

It roars loudly and swings its mighty knifes toward me.

I let out a high pitched scream and I jump away from it. "Hiro!" I scream loudly and I see he is too busy with his own Kishin. He blocks the Kishin with his knife while he glows a faint white color around him.

"Maka!" He yells while he tries to get the Kishin off of him. "Look out!"

I gasp loudly when the claws hit the ground where I had just been barely a second ago. The Kishin hovers over me and saliva drips onto my shirt, completely soaking it. Disgusting!

The Kishin roars loudly and he lifts his claws high and I squeeze my eyes shut, covering my face with my arms. I let out a loud scream, but his claws never cut me open. Instead I heard metal meeting metal. My eyes slowly crack open and I see a leather covered back and a tussle of white hair and his body glows a white color as well.

"S-Soul." I stutter.

With his dagger he pushes the Kishin away from me and spins it in his hand. "Get up." He says roughly without turning toward me. "Are you hurt? Did it cut you?"

"N-no."

The Kishin leaps toward Soul and he skillfully blocks it. The Kishin doesn't stop there, he uses his other clawed hand and swings it toward Soul. He forces him to back toward me and I keep going backwards with him.

"Listen to me Maka." Soul grunt as he quickly fish up a knife from his boat and throws it right in the Kishin's eye, making it roar out in pain. "You need to get out of here. Now. Get into the first building you see and stay there. I will find you." My heart skips a beat. Even in these kinds of situation he can still make my knees buckle. Asshole.

"What about you and Hiro? Will you be okay?"

Soul growls when the Kishin wildly swings his claws at him. "We will be fine!" Soul's knife digs into the palm of the Kishin. "Just get out of here!"

I despise the idea about leaving them behind, but I know he is right. I'm just going to be in the way for them. My teeth find my lower lip and I sniffle. "Don't you dare loose to them." I don't wait for a reply, quickly I turn away from them both and start running away. Tears trickle down my cheeks and I swear my lip is bleeding. I really want to help them in some way. I feel so weak always hiding in my house. For once, I want to be brave and kill the Kishins. They are both fighting on my behalf, my Kishin waited for me to come and it found me, it might kill any of them. It might take their lives just like it took my mother's.

I wouldn't be able to live with myself if it killed Soul.

I gaps loudly and I shudder. When did it become so cold outside? It feels like someone threw me into a bathtub filled with ice water and ice cubes.

"Shit!"

"MAKA LOOK OUT!" Hiro curses and Soul shouts loudly.

Everything slows down. I turn my neck and I can feel every beat of my heart― no, the beat of my soul. A shadow grows over me, blocking out the moon, and that object, just has to be the Kishin that has been there every night of my life. It has its claws high up and it is just a few feet away from me. There is no way I can avoid it.

My bump hits the asphalt and my arms swing over my head in poor defense. Slowly it gets closer to me and on instinct, I close my eyes.

"MAKAAAA!" Soul screams loudly.

I don't want to leave Soul.

Tears trickle down my cheeks and I hear the Kishin land right above me and it growls loudly.

I don't want to die!

Instantly my skin heat up to an unbearable degree before I feel it all release off of my body. Spark crackle and sizzle and I hear the Kishin roars loudly and I find myself in darkness.


	10. Chapter X

**Eventide **

**Chapter X**

Everything had gone so quickly. One second I was running and the next I was on the ground with the Kishin on top of me, and the next second, I was gone, just drifting around.

Soul came to my mind, what will he think now when I'm dead? Would he be sad or mad? Most likely he would be mad because he lost his Grigori Meister, now he can't control me anymore. Maybe this was for the best for him, now he will finally be free from me and do whatever he wants.

It feels like someone punched me in my stomach. It hurts, I don't want him to be relieved about my sudden pass. I do like him, especially now when he has opened up to me, but there is still so much I want to know from him. It was wrong for me to lash out on him like that. It isn't my business to get into their fight, it wasn't about me so I shouldn't hold it against him. It is their thing to work out.

I regret it so much.

The darkness slowly goes away and is replaced with light. The light grows brighter and brighter and voices penetrate the silence.

"―aka."

"Are you for real? She actually did that?" Who is that? It sounds like a male's voice.

"Yeah, I know what I saw." That's Soul.

"Do you realize what crap she has gotten us into? This will put everyone in danger!" That's _Jaqueline._ Disgusting bitch.

I groan and I find myself looking up at a very high wooden ceiling with spider web where the leaning walls met each other.

"Maka." Tsubaki says and moves into my vision. "You are awake. It was about time."

I yawn and I support myself on my arms. Tsubaki lays her hand on my shoulder. "You shouldn't move too much. You got badly wounded and even if Stein healed you up, it will still hurt a little and be sore."

"What are you t―" I let out a chocked cry. My stomach twig with pain and immediately I lay down in the comfortable covers of the bed.

How am I alive? What wound?

"I know what you are thinking." Soul says and he moves toward me, taking a seat on the bed with his hands in his pockets. Why isn't he touching me? Is it because Jaqueline is here? I could really need just holding his hand. "Hiro is fine and both Kishins are dead. He went home after the fight ended." Oh Hiro wouldn't just walk away like that from me. Soul must have been quite mean toward him if he just left. Who knows what they got into when I was out.

"What is the last thing you remember?" Tsubaki asks quickly.

I raise my eyebrow and look at her. "I don't really know. I remembered everything turned really, _really_ cold and then the Kishin was on top of me, then I was wrapped up in unbearable warmth and then everything turned dark." My eyes narrows. This is the right time. "And why didn't you tell me there is a fourth Meister type. If you thought I was a Grigori, then why didn't you tell me about it?"

"I can answer that." Soul says, not looking into my eyes. "Remember when the Kishin had cut you in your leg?" Oh yeah, that. My leg had been mysteriously healed when I was supposed to change the bandages. "You had been overwhelmed with the information. I couldn't just keep drowning you in more, especially with something like this. You needed time for yourself and when you were ready, I was going to tell you more."

"Yeah, yeah, whatever, now tell her about what you saw. You can't keep this a secret from her, not when she is their main target." Kilik says. "We can't keep tiptoeing around the subject. Our suspicions were confirmed so now we need to deal with it."

Soul growls irritatingly. "Yes I will. Can we at least get some peace and quiet? Everyone doesn't need to stand here like snowmen. Go and work out or something."

"Actually," A blond girl with very long hair steps forward, "You promised you would handle the situation with her and you failed. Twice. I think we have every right to stay here and make sure you get the job done."

Huh? What does she mean? What exactly did he fail at doing with me?

Soul curses and runs his hand through his hair. "Just leave! That's an order! I _will_ tell her everything. It will be hard enough explaining it to her and she doesn't need to have an audience."

"You heard the man." Black*Star hollers. "Let's give them privacy. We all need to train after the night we all had." Black*Star pushes the Thompson sister away. Kilik rolls his eyes and grabs Chrona's arm and pulls him away. The rest leaves without any means of force. Except one little bitch.

"I'm staying." Jaqueline crosses her arms and stands her ground.

"For the love of―" Soul growls and stands up from the bed. "You aren't going to stay. Now stop being difficult and go and join the others in the gym."

Jaqueline's face turns first to hurt before her eyes spark with anger. Her anger is then directed at me, she gives me the most hateful look she can muster before she snorts and walk away from us.

"I'm staying." I turn toward my right and I almost gasp in shock. There is a grey haired man standing behind me with a giant _screw_ going through his head! He has stitches going through his face and he wears a giant white _lab coat_, not a doctor's rob! What the heck is he?! "I think I'm the most suitable to explain her medical condition."

Soul sighs and takes a seat again on the bed. "Sure, whatever."

"And I'm stay too." I look right behind me and I see Soul's brother Wes stands behind me. "You know my presence here is needed. I need to make sure she has all the information she needs and make sure you do your job properly."

I hear a small sneer coming from Soul. "I chose to not tell you anything about the Grigories because you are a smart girl. I know you would draw some parallels between you and Grigori Meisters and you weren't ready to deal with that kind of information." Soul ignores Wes and keeps explaining. "Before I tell you what happened when we fought the Kishins, you need to know for us to be able to kill a Kishin, we are not only required to use Soul Force, we need to be in the spiritual world where the Kishins residence in order to kill them. By entering the spiritual world, we need to switch place between our heart and soul, and that way we switch between a physical body and our spiritual one." Soul's eyes meet with mine for the first time, and I know why his left eye is bruised. It is a deep purple color. He didn't get that during the fight with the Kishins. Hiro must have done it. "When we are in spiritual world, we are exposed to their world and that is why everything feels so cold since we don't have the warm of our physical body."

"So that was what I was feeling? I turned to my spiritual body?" I ask and Soul nods. Soul's hand gets out from his pocket and his hand finds mine. I almost want to scream in joy when his warm fingers entwine with mine and I find myself utterly at peace.

"Yes. Somehow you managed to find your soul and manage to switch to your spiritual body. That is when the Kishin drove itself insane. Your wavelength was exposed and it got pass Hiro and ran for you. When it got to you, it dug its claws into your stomach and that is when you used Soul Force on it. Your whole body lit up instead of just your hand, the Kishin turned to ashes before the Soul Force even hit him." Soul's thumb caresses my hand and I squeeze his hand back, showing that I encourage us to hold hands.

"What does this mean for me?" I ask.

A spark of sadness flies in his eyes and he let down his poker face. He bites his lower lip and slowly he shakes his head. "This means you are in danger like never before. You switched into your spiritual form in the middle of the city, meaning you exposed everyone your wavelength, every Kishin inside of the city felt your wavelength and now they know there is a Grigori. Kishins will drive toward the city which will put the civilian in danger. Other Meisters will pick up on this and they will hunt for you as well. You aren't just in danger for Kishins, but for Meisters as well." Soul squeezes my hand and he moves closer to me. "That is why I'm h― _we_ are here. We want to protect you. I consider you a part of my group and we take care of each other."

Tears burn my eyes.

My whole life I put my family and friends in danger, the few friends I had at least. My mother _died_ because of me and my father is an alcoholic because of me. He hates me because of me.

And now, I put the whole city in danger because of me. I put innocent people in danger of the Kishins and I put Soul in danger. I'm a burden to everyone.

"Maka." Soul whispers and he reach over to me, wiping away tears I didn't know were there. "Tell me what is on your mind." His hand gently caresses my cheek and I lean into his touch. I shouldn't be this attached to someone who isn't my boyfriend.

"Okay!" Wes exclaims. "Stein, I think you will have to explain some other time, these two obviously need some time alone." Stein is about to protest but Wes quickly drags him away from Soul and I.

"I feel like a burden. For my whole life I put my family in danger and my mother died because of me. Now I have put so many innocent people in danger, I don't know how I'm going to deal with everything." I sniffle and more tears trickle down my cheeks.

Soul quickly wipes away my tears. "Then protect them, learn how to control your soul and fight Kishins with everything you got. You can save lives with your powers. You can run away but what will that do? You will get more people killed that way than staying and fighting against them."

Soul's eyes pierce mine. His eyes are so strong and filled with fire, the fire to keep fighting. My heart fills with joy and I feel, just maybe, maybe I can actually be a Meister. Maybe I can actually protect people.

"Do you really think I can be a Meister? Do you really think I can do it?"

Soul chuckles and moves closer to me, only a small amount of air separates us. "Of course I do. I have never doubted you." Soul smiles a real smile, not his damned smirk or anything, a real smile with his lips and his eyes. "The sun is up. The Kishins are gone for now."

My eyes widen. My father. Oh my! He must have sobered up by now! "Oh no!" I exclaim and get up too quickly since my stomach jabs with pain. Soul quickly lowers me down on the bed.

"Relax Maka. You can call your father and say you are with Tsubaki. You aren't fully healed yet to be moving around."

"Then get Tsubaki or Stein and get me fully healed! I have to leave! My father must be worried―" That is a lie. I know my father wouldn't be concern, he wouldn't even notice I was gone. All he does is work and drink. That is all he does and quite frankly, he should hate me for letting him drink for my own benefit. I let him drink so he will be too drunk to leave the house at night. I'm an awful daughter. "Just forget what I said."

Soul slowly nods, looking confused at me, but he did let it go. "When you are ready to talk about your family, I'm ready for it." Soul drops his hands from my cheeks and his eyes also drops, but they stay at our hands. "But there is something I want to talk about." Soul lifts his eyes and he looks into mine with sorrow. "I want to come clean about something."

I raise my eyebrow and look confused at him. "What is it?"

"You have to promise you will hear me out. You can't interrupted me or question me, you have to hear everything out before you say anything. Clear?"

Geez, he sounds like the Soul that leads his gang, not the Soul knew, although, through that, I can see the twinkle of fear in his eyes. "Okay, I promise."

Soul inhales deeply as if to gather strength. "I lied to you about cheating on you. I was never with Jaqueline. That same afternoon I was here at the barn with the others. There had been activities of another Meister group around Death City and we didn't want them to grow suspicious of you, so they all told me to break up with you in order to protect you―"

My eyes widen, but I don't interrupt him. I had given him my word and I intend to keep it, but, this. I had no clue he would tell me this. My heart beats fast and I feel like crying, if it is tears of joy or sorrow, I have no idea.

"― didn't want to lie to your or break up with you. That was the least I wanted. I would rather take you to the barn and keep you there until they had gone away, but I knew keeping you away from us was the greatest disguise for you." Soul squeezes my hand and he pushes hair strands behind my ear. His face is so close to mine. "These few days apart from you made me open my eyes. I know I was gone a lot because of Meisters stuff, but hearing you say that you didn't know me, it really made me realize how little you actually knew me and how much I wanted you to know me." His finger follows my jaw before he gently cups my cheek. "What my biggest discovery was just how attached I had gotten to you. I discovered that I did not just like you or had a small crush on you, I came to discover that I'm very close at falling terribly in love with you."

That is the moment I actually think my heart leaped out of my chest and left me. Did he just say what I thought he said? So he doesn't just like me, he is falling in love with me while I just like him even though I don't know him. How can he be so attached to me?

"Okay, can you say something? Anything really." Soul says. His cheeks are pink as he gently scratches his cheek. He is insecure! Him! Soul Eater! He is nervous around _me_ of all people! Wow, that is kind of… astonishing.

"I don't really know what to say." I confess. "It's just, you really hurt me when you lied to me."

"I know and I'm very sorry. Please, let me make it up to you. I can take you out on a date and I promise I will be upfront about everything. You will get to know me for who I actually am and maybe we could start off our relationship again." Soul says. His eyes sparkle with hope. His jaw is tense, he is waiting for my answer.

What should I say? Do I even want to get back together with him? Oh, who the heck am I kidding, I have wanted him back and now when it proves to have been fake, I want him back right _now._ It would be unethical of me to go back to him without truly knowing who he is, maybe I will wait with getting back together with him and see where things go after this date. Who knows, it could spark something new.

"Okay, I will give you another chance, but we aren't going to get together until I get to know you better." I lean toward him and smile playfully, poking his nose. "If you stand me up this time without an explanation, you bet I will kick your ass to the curb."

Soul looks alarmed when I poked his nose, totally unprepared for it. A large grin grows on his face and he cups my face. "Deal. You bet I won't ever stand you up again." Soul's lips collide with mine and his lips move eagerly against mine, which I full-heartedly return without any doubts clouding my mind.


	11. Chapter XI

**Eventide **

**Chapter XI**

"No, no, Maka." Soul sighs impatiently. "You have to use it like it is an extension of yourself, not like a damned stick." Soul rubs the bridge of his nose. "I have gone over this plenty of times. Shouldn't you be able to do it by now?"

I pant heavily, lying on the ground inside of the sparing ring with my dagger lying beside me forgotten. "It isn't easy!" The poor excuse for clothes he'd chosen are drenched with sweat and I stink worse than the toilet in the morning after my father has thrown up in there. I still can't believe how he managed to convince me to wear short and tight shorts which practically shows off my butt. Not to forget the short tank top that ends above my belly button and shows off my greens sports bra that peeks up from the hem. Damn perverted Soul. "I have never dealt with any weapons before! It was the first time I held a sword in class! You can't blame me for sucking!"

Soul breaks out laughing and he kneels down in front of me, putting his dagger away. "Maybe I'm not motivating you enough." A large smirk spreads on his face. "For every time you manage to block and counterattack, I will give you a kiss―"

"Deal!" Okay, maybe I agreed a little too fast.

Soul chuckles and offers me his hand. "You were very eager." I grab his hand and he hoists me up on my feet. "Just because you were so eager you will get a sample of your success." Soul's lips meet mine in a quick kiss. Obviously teasing me. "Now, show me you can do it."

When I walked inside of the barn today, I had no idea it would be this hard to handle a dagger. The way Soul and Hiro had handled their knives back outside of the restaurant, it was amazing. They were so calm and collected, they knew exactly what to do, when to do it. I never thought it would be this intense just to learn how to handle a dagger. I can't even learn the basics without running into a wall.

As expected, when Soul comes at me with his dagger, he moves too fast for me to even react to and he end up holding his dagger toward my neck. "Are you even trying?"

I look away from him and slap the dagger away from my neck. "I try but you move way too fast for me to even react to."

Soul chuckles while he gently shakes his head. "Maka, I'm moving really slowly. You should be able to react, you managed to dodge the Kishin's attacks and they were a lot faster than mine. You aren't focusing at the moment." Soul's hand touch mine and he gently takes the dagger from me. "Let's take a break and we will move on to soul control then. Go and drink plenty of water. You need it." He then turns away from me and walks away with both of the daggers.

After all of that training, I really do need the water to sooth my dry throat. I walk toward the drinking fountain. I hold down the lever and quickly drink the water. It feels really good when the water run down my throat.

"You know you aren't welcome here." I straighten and look behind me, and what a surprise, Jaqueline stands there. "No one wants you here. Not even Soul. You are just a nuisance to all of us."

If you want to go there then game fucking on. "You can say whatever you want but I won't believe you. Soul wants me and you are just jealous that he wants me instead of you."

Jaqueline narrows her eyes and cross her arms over her chest. "Oh, if you didn't hear, I fucked him good plenty of times when you two were together." If she wants a fight, then I'm going to give her one.

"I know that is a lie. I believe Soul more than you and the fact that he is rather with me than you shows me that he doesn't feel anything romantically toward you." I move toward her. "And you know what?"

I didn't believe she could narrow her eyes even more, they are small slits. Can she even see or are her eyes shut? "What?" She sneers.

"You are out of his heart and I'm his girlfriend who he actually loves." I may have bent the truth a little.

Jaqueline snaps. She let out a high pitch screech and bares her nails. She jumps at me and we tumble against the drinking fountain before I hit the ground hard with Jaqueline on top of me. Quickly she straddles my stomach and her fist smashes into my jaw. She isn't kidding.

At least I got a reaction from her.

My fist connects with her stomach and the air in Jaqueline's lungs is forced out of her lungs. I take the opening and quickly grab her hair and flip us around so I'm on top. I raise my fist and without getting a single punch at her, I'm ripped away from Jaqueline.

"Calm down Maka." Soul whispers into my ear as he presses me against his chest.

Kilik holds Jaqueline and she screeches loudly. Her eyes are glistering with tears and a large frown on her face.

My stomach drops and I realize in that moment, she is still very much in love with Soul. She loves him and she hates the fact that Soul is with me now. And I rubbed it in her face and hurt even more.

"I'm sorry Jaqueline."

She looks utterly surprised, but it is quickly replaces with anger. "I don't care about your stupid apology." She rips herself away from Kilik and quickly walks away from us.

"What was that about?" Soul asks while he releases me from his grip.

I meet his eyes. My body melts deliciously just looking into them. It is almost like his scarlet eyes were heaters which warm up my frozen body. "It is stupid."

"I still want to know."

"Okay." I sigh loudly. "She said I wasn't welcomed here and it all turned about you, I said some very stupid things and she was mad and sad. That is why we fought."

Soul chuckles and he crosses his arms over his bare chest. So he has dumped the shirt. Damn tease. "As hot as it is to have two girls fighting over me, especially with one of them being you, this isn't good. She is right. You're new in our group and you are fresh to this world. They aren't sure they can trust you with their lives." Soul sighs and moves closer to me. "I was going to talk to you about this later, but I guess right now is as good as later."

I raise my eyebrow.

Soul grabs my hand. "People doubt you. They don't think you are as dedicated as the rest of us. They aren't willing to put their lives in your hands and quite frankly, if I let you out at night, I'm afraid you would die."

My eyes widen. "What?! My mother _died_ because of a Kishin! My father is an alcoholic because of my mother's death! He hates me because I failed to protect my mother! My family is _broken_ because of that Kishin! My whole _life_ has been in isolation and in sadness because of that Kishin! I think I'm damned motivated to fight them!" My eyes prickle with tears and I don't even realize that everyone inside of the barn is looking at me. My tears spill over and I quickly wipe them away. "I'm sorry." There is no use, the tears keep coming. "I need a moment alone." Turning on my heel, I rush out of the barn and slam the door shut behind me. The tears trickle down my cheeks and a large lump grows in my throat. I walk away from the barn and into the forest that surrounds the barn.

I had snapped. I don't even know where I found the strength or whatever it was to just pour everything about my family life and my past. Everything had just come pouring out of my mouth.

I cross my arms over my chest. I feel so cold and exposed. It doesn't help with the cold wind and the lack of warmth in the air. The sun offers no warmth and neither is the shelter of the forest. How am I supposed to deal with this now? This sudden confession of mine. Everybody will definitely question about my family, especially about my father. I can't take that, my father doesn't deserve to be involved in this.

My eyes widen. The crowns of the forest did already block out a lot of light, but it has suddenly grown darker, way too dark. My eyes snap up toward the ends of the trees and my heart stops. I see the sun slowly setting and the moon is growing more visible.

This isn't supposed to happen! It is just afternoon! It isn't supposed to grow dark until a couple more hours!

A loud roar echoes throughout the forest. My blood freezes in my veins and two bright red eyes light up the darkness as soon as the sun disappears and the moon looms over me sinisterly through the tree tops.

"Maka…"

My eyes widen even more. That Kishin. It just spoke to me.

"Please don't hurt me." I take a step backwards, away from the glowing eyes. "Think rationally, you don't need to hurt me." Am I stupid for trying to talk some sense into a _Kishin?_ Yeah, I am.

The Kishin roars loudly and the eyes move closer to me. I gasp loudly and I start running deeper into the forest. The darkness is too thick for me to see properly. Tree branches slam into my face and claws at the shameful clothes.

The Kishin roars loudly. The sound of a tree breaks and I hear the screech of it and then a large pang as it hits the ground. I pant heavily as I keep running, running as fast as my legs allows me. Branches hit me in the face so hard I can feel they leave scratches behind.

The moon provides poorly light for my eyes and the objects appear a split second in front of me, which leaves little time to avoid them.

My shoulder hit a tree and I stubble a little before I keep running.

The Kishin growls while he keeps chasing me. The claws of metal clatters against each other and I hear it stomp after me, breaking branches and rustling leaves. It sounds so close to me. It almost feels like I can feel it pant in my neck and smell its hideous smell.

I gasp loudly when I stumble on a root and a branch catch the hem of my shorts and rips it. I hit hard on the ground and I must have hurt my knee in the fall since it suddenly starts throbbing with pain and I feel something trickle down my leg. It must be blood. I can't run, not with this knee.

The Kishin growls and I feel something wet drip onto my leg. "Maka…" It sneers and I hear leaves crunch. Just beside me. The Kishin is right over me.

My soul! I need to kill it! I managed before, I can do it again! My soul, I need to feel it. Okay, feel the soft waves of it and hopefully I will stumble onto the Soul Force again.

I close my eyes and focus on my soul, all I can feel is my own heartbeat, not my soul. My heartbeat speeds up as I hear the Kishin growl and move closer to me.

I can't find it! I'm screwed!

"Maka!" That's Soul.

The Kishin roars loudly and I gasp loudly when I feel its large claws pick me up and put me on its shoulders.

"Let me go!" I exclaim, punching it in the back and kicking it in the chest. "Stupid Kishin! Let me go!" I yell loudly.

The Kishin drops me and I tumble on the ground. It roars loudly in pain.

"Maka! Are you okay?!" Soul yells. It sounds like it comes from above me. I hear the sound of a knife or a dagger, something with a sharp blade. The two large red eyes glow in the darkness moves irregular, swinging from side to side before it grows loudly and they move toward the right before they disappear.

"I'm fine." I say and I hear Soul moving closer to me.

"No. You are hurt. I smell copper." I gasp and my eyes widen when I see Soul's hand suddenly spark. Is he going to use Soul Force on me? "I need to do this. It won't hurt that bad. I will see you as soon as you wake up." The last thing I know is Soul's hand connecting with my stomach and I'm out like a light again.


	12. Chapter XII

**Eventide**

**Chapter XII**

As soon as I woke up, I find myself on my bed inside the comfort of my own bedroom. The moon is up and it is dark outside. The sound of the Kishin stomping outside of my window is gone, now after all of these years, it is way too quiet without the Kishin patrolling outside of my window. Next to my bed I found a note with my name on it. I unfold it and read it.

_When you read this, call me. I don't care how late it is or how early it is in the morning. We need to talk._

_ Soul OXOX_

I put the note down and I find my phone beside it. It doesn't take long for me to find Soul's contact, I see he has mixed with it since this is what it says; _Soul Eater your bf ;*_. Oh man. I don't even know how I'm supposed to react to this. Am I supposed to be happy that he addressed himself as my boyfriend, or should I be annoyed that he says things when he knows we are just friends at the moment who just try to get to know each other and see if there actually is a spark between us? There is already a spark, I already know that and Soul likes me, we can get together now, but I need to know more about Soul before that happens. Girlfriends and boyfriends are supposed to really know each other enough to predict their movements and actions. I really would want that with Soul, but at the moment I don't know him well enough to engage into a relationship with him again.

I call Soul and it only takes three rings before he answers. "Slept well Sleeping Beauty?"

I blush at the name. "You wanted me to call. What is it you want to talk about?"

Rustles of leaves sounds from the speaker along with branches. Is he outside? "Okay, I will be over in ten."

"Wait! Hold on! Stay inside! What if a Kishin attacks you?"

Soul chuckles, oh such a sweet chuckle. "Don't worry your pretty face about me. I will be fine. I need both my hands to drive my bike. I will see you soon." Soul then hung up on me.

I was on the edge the whole time, I chewed on my lower lip as I tap my finger against the night stand. I fear for his life, what is the possibility of him running into a Kishin? I know from my own experience as soon as I have went outside, Kishins have attacked me as soon as I have stepped outside of my house or any building, but then again, Soul isn't a Grigori. I have seen people walk pass my house without the Kishin attacking them. It is kind of a yes no scenario, all I can do is cross my fingers and hope for the best.

I had expected a knock on the door, not exactly a loud thud, outside of my window and I see Soul smirking wide at me while he clutches onto the bricks on the wall. My heart had literally jumped up in my throat as I quickly rip my window open. "What are you doing, idiot! You can f―"

Soul cuts me off by jumping onto my bed and smashes his lips against mine. Gently he cups my cheek while he pulls me closer to his chest. He taste of spices and mint, it could be toothpaste but I'm not sure, all I know is I like it.

He pulls away from me and rests his forehead on mine. "Sorry, I really needed that."

"Why?"

Soul chuckles and his thumb caress my hip. "Why? Because I thought I would be too late and all the damage dealt to you was just cuts and a bleeding knee. I'm happy that you are alright and well." Caringly, he pulls me to his chest and rests his head on top of mine. "There is something I need to talk to you about."

"What is it?" I inhale his sweet spicy scent and I feel so safe in his arms.

"I just had a slight suspicion before, but now it is confirmed. There is a Kishin that has devoured enough souls to turn from a Kishin to a human. It has brains enough to control its instincts. When we were inside of the forest, it had no interest in devouring your soul, it wanted to kidnap you." Soul murmurs into my ear. "And that isn't all. This Kishin is strong enough to control the moon. It can make the sun go away and bring out darkness whenever it wants for a specific time. I don't know for the exact amount of time, but to be on the safe side, we have to assume it can make it dark until the real nightfall."

I feel nausea. Everything is spinning and the corner of my vision turns darker. The darkness stays away due to Soul's scent and his strong arms around me.

"What does this mean? Why does it want me?"

"I think you already know that. The Kishin obviously wants your soul, but I do find it weird that it wanted to take you with it instead of killing you on the spot. If it only wanted your soul, then you would be dead right now. Something isn't adding up, but one thing is clear, you are not going to go outside without me."

I find my arms are shaking― my whole body is shaking. This is insane, I have lived a quiet life and now with all this drama, I think I'm going to be overwhelmed and have a meltdown if this doesn't stop.

"Can I ask you some questions?"

"Of course you can, ask away."

"How did you find me inside of the woods?"

Soul chuckles and I hear him inhale my scent. "Meisters can do a cool thing called Soul Perception. We can look at people's souls from a certain range. I heard the Kishin inside of the forest, so I ran inside and used my Soul Perception. I found your soul along with the Kishin's, so I turned to my spiritual form and ran as quick as I could."

"Are Meisters able to run super-fast as well? From what I heard, you moved so fast."

Soul nods against my head. "Yeah, since we are in spiritual form we don't have physical limits. It is our souls that limits our speed and strength and let me tell you, we are _way_ faster than we are in our physical form."

I giggle and I clutch onto Soul's leather jacket. I had once worn it on a date. It had been chilly and Soul had offered me it. That was the first time I had seen that Soul could actually be very gentlemanly. He is more like a bad boy, but he can be a gentleman if he wants to and I'm very happy that I'm the one who can bring that out of him.

"Maka I―"

My bedroom door slams open and my father stands there with an empty bottle of vodka. His eyes are half lidded and he is very unstable on his feet, he is so unsteady he has to support himself on my doorframe.

I freeze. I'm on my _bed_ with a _guy_ and he has his _arms around me._ We are very much cuddled up. Oh dear, how am I supposed to deal with this?!

"Give me alcohol." His words are slurred and I can barely make out what he is saying. "I know you have more."

My eyes widen and I quickly snap my eyes toward Soul. He grins wide at me, flashing his sharp teeth. I notice the white glow around him and the warmth and his solid body is gone, of course. He is in his spiritual form that is why my father can't see him.

"If you aren't going to give me alcohol, I'm going to go out and get alcohol myself."

Oh no. "I will give you some." I quickly shoot up from my bed and starts searching in my drawer. Underneath my clothes I find a vodka bottle. "Here, make it last at least tomorrow night."

My father snatches it from my hand and he unscrews the cap and takes a large gulp of it. "You don't tell me what to do, bitch. I know you are the one who killed her. I'm ashamed to call you my daughter." He hicks and he stumbles toward the door. "Just you wait, I'm going to kick you out of my house one day." He slams the door shut.

Soul gets up from the bed and he grabs my hand. "I knew you had a tough relationship with your father, but I didn't know it was this tough."

I sniffle and tears prickle my eyes. "Please, I don't want to talk about this."

"It is okay, you don't have to talk about it if you aren't ready." Soul gently tugs me toward my bed and we take a seat on it. "But I do want to talk about that date we have been talking about."

I smile and a dry laugh escapes my lips. Did he just make me smile when I was on the verge of tears? He is a good guy. "Okay, have you already planned it?"

Soul chuckles and he wraps his arm around my waist, pulling me closer to him. "Maybe. You need a break away from everything. From this whole Kishin and Meister thing. I think it would be good for you to feel like an ordinary girl since I ripped you into this whole thing without your consent. I can't say an exact day when it will take place, but I can promise you it will happen very soon."

I giggle and I rest my head on his shoulder. "So you are telling me when it happens, you will just pick me up and take me on this date?"

"Pretty much."

I smile and I turn my head toward his neck. "I would like that." My voice falls and I plant a kiss on the crook of his neck, kissing his pulse.

"It is late." Soul says and he caresses my waist. "You should probably go back to bed."

"Can you please stay the night?" The words pour out of my mouth without my consent. "I don't mean it like that! I mean like, um, you know, so you don't get hurt when you are outside. A Kishin could come and―"

"Relax Maka, I get it." He gently grabs my chin and forces me to look into his eyes. "I can stay and I promise I won't force myself on you. That isn't cool."

I smile and nods, a newfound happiness grows inside of me but also, a newfound nervousness. "Wait here and don't you dare peek." I get up from my bed and grab my pajama from my chair where I always keep my clothes on. I lock myself inside of my bathroom and gets change into my pajama. At the moment, I wish I had actually cared when I bought my shorts, they are a little transparent which will allow Soul to see my light blue panties with a cute ribbon on it. My large t-shirt covers a little of the shorts, but he will still be able to see my panties. Why does this feel so… intimate? He will sort of be the first one to see my panties, but at the same time not.

I take a deep breath and look at myself, the childish pigtails in my hair. Don't be a coward. He does like you and he won't do anything bad, this is Soul we are talking about. The one person who has always jumped in front of me to save me.

The door creaks open and I step outside, my cheeks heat up to an unbearable temperature. Soul lies on the bed, with his jacket lying on the floor along with his shoes. He smiles toward me and lifts up the corner of the blanket. "Are you going to stand there or are you going to go to bed?"

My cheeks heat up and I stroll over to the bed and lay down. Soul wraps the blanket around me while he is lying on it. "Don't you want the blanket?"

Soul shakes his head while he wraps his arms around me. "Nah, if I were to lie under the blanket, I know I would do something stupid."

My cheeks must be rivaling tomatoes because they are unbearable hot. I'm lucky it is dark inside of my room.

"Soul?"

"Hmm?"

"Is it okay if I ask some questions? They aren't any questions about meisters, they're about you."

"Ask away, I don't mind."

I should be ashamed for even thinking about this. "Was your first time good?"

Soul chuckles gently into my ear. "That is your first question? You really want to know about my sex life?"

I blush madly and I jab my elbow into his ribcage, causing him to pant in pain. "Shut up. Forget I even asked you."

"It was awkward." Soul ignores my dismissal. "We both had no clue what we were doing. She was in a lot of pain and as the little virgin I was, I lasted about ten seconds."

I giggle and turn toward him, feeling his breath hit my face and his strong aroma all around me. "Really?"

Soul nods. "Yeah, it was very uncool. But we both wanted to do it and we did."

"It sounds like you two were close. Was she your first love?" Stupid! You shouldn't be asking these kinds of questions! His answers will only hurt me! I can feel my stomach growing tight and the lump in my throat expanse.

"Yeah, she was my first real girlfriend and my first love." Soul crawls on top of me and the only thing keeping us apart is the blanket. "She is gone. You don't have to worry about her. It was years ago and I haven't seen her in a very long time. My eyes are set on you and only you. You are the one who holds my heart and it is you who I want to be with."

"Soul." His eyes are so red and his lips so close to mine. I want to kiss him.

"I know we aren't official, but I do consider you my girlfriend and think of myself as very much taken." He rests his forehead against mine. "I know I love you. I really do love you and I will wait forever for you to return those words." He loves me. That is the first time he has ever uttered those words to me. It is the first time he even had me in the same sentence as love. I don't know if I'm supposed to be happy or frighten, he is this emotionally attached to me while I still hold no feelings toward him.

"Soul."

"Yeah?"

"You are crushing me." It is hard to breathe when he has his full weight on me.

"Oh," Soul quickly gets off me and lies beside me. "Sorry."

"Don't worry about it." I take deep breaths while Soul snuggles close to me.

"Maka?"

"Yeah?"

"For future references, I like lacy panties with ribbons but blue cotton panties are cool too if that makes you comfortable."

My cheeks heat up and as I try to free my arm, Soul tightens his grip on me and the blanket successfully traps my arms. "Soul! You perv!"

"Hey, it isn't me who walk around with shorts as transparent as plastic."


	13. Chapter XIII

**Eventide **

**Chapter XIII**

Soul was gone when I woke up. He wasn't lying beside me and he wasn't inside of the bathroom. His jacket and shoes were gone and on my nightstand laid a note for me.

_I'm sorry. Liz called and I had to return to the barn. Eat a large breakfast, I will come and get you as soon as the problem is solved._

_ Soul OXOX_

I took Soul's advice to heart. I made pancakes, sandwiches and two glasses of juice. I shoved all the food into my mouth and I ate it all happily. That was until my father came inside of the kitchen.

"Stupid girl." He mutters while he walks up to the cabinet.

"I have already prepared your hangover drink. It's beside the sink." I say while I eat the last bite of my large breakfast.

He sneers and slaps the glass. The liquid runs down the sink. "You might have poisoned it. You killed Kami, you are trying to kill me now." Spirit starts making his own hangover drink.

I sigh and collect my plates and silverware before I put them into the sink.

"Dad―"

"I'm not your father." He quickly says while he stirs a spoon in his glass. "I'm not a father to a monster.

A powerful pang makes my heart clench with pain. I should be used to his treatment toward me, but I still am not. How can a daughter get used to her father constantly verbally abusing them? I sure can't. I just wished he could be sober and listen to me and not go outside during night. He can say mean things about me and ignore me all he wants, I just don't want to lose my father to the Kishins too. I have already a large burden on my shoulders, I don't need another one.

"I know you think I'm a monster. I'm just trying to protect you. You don't know what comes out during the night. You can get stabbed by a thief or―"

"Or what?!" My father snaps toward me, his red hair caressing his neck. "Animals will attack me and tear me apart just like Kami was?! I know you had something to do with it and I'm not going to allow you to kill me like her!"

There is no use trying to talk some sense into him. He won't ever believe me, not without proof. Even if I could show him the Kishins, he would be just as scared as I am, maybe even more. How to you protect yourself against something you can't see? He will be even more afraid than I am.

There is a roar of a motorcycle outside of the house. I look out of the window and I see Soul pulling up on the driveway.

"I have to go. Stay inside and slow down on the booze, okay?"

He snorts and takes a large gulp of his hangover remedy. He mutters inaudible while I walk out of the house and locks the door behind me. I see Soul smirking at me while he takes out a helmet from the secret compartment.

"You ready for some training?" Soul asks, handing me the helmet.

"Yeah. As long as you don't put me into those shameful clothes." I put the helmet on and buckle the clips.

Soul chuckles as I climb on the bike. "We will just have to see about that." I wrap my arms tightly around his waist and Soul speed away toward the barn. It takes some time for us to get there, but I do not rush Soul. I enjoy touching him and holding him, especially when he is wearing such a thin shirt. I can feel every curve and every ripple of his muscles. Maybe I'm weird for feeling him up on the bike, but Soul doesn't seem to mind.

We arrive at the barn and Soul wraps his arm around my shoulders while we enter it. Kilik and Liz seem to be fighting about something and the others don't seem to stop them. Everyone is actually fighting and yelling at each other.

"Hey!" Soul exclaims and releases me from him. "What is going on―"

"She is going to get us all killed!" Liz exclaims.

"Yeah! Now they have come to town!" Patty yells.

"Listen to yourselves! What do you want us to do?! She is a Grigori! What do you expect us to do? Throw her to the gutter?!" Kilik yells, he and Black*Star seems to be the only ones protecting me.

"Shut up!" Soul hollers and both sides of the argument silence. "What is wrong with you? Since when do you abandon a fellow Meister?!" Soul yells, his eyes filled with passion and anger. "Since when did my group grow into backstabbing cowards who would rather abandon a Meister than fight for them?" Soul turns on his heel and grabs my hand, tugging me toward the group. "The Meisters in my group aren't backstabbing cowards. If you aren't going to step up for Maka, then you can leave the group. There is no place for Meisters who won't cover for their teammates here."

Quickly Black*Star and Tsubaki step forward. "I'm staying. I'm here to protect Maka." Tsubaki says.

"Count me in, no one will touch our Grigori girl." Black*Star smirks while he wraps his arm around Tsubaki.

"I'm not going to leave the group. Maka is a fellow teammate who needs us." Kilik says and steps forward to stand beside Black*Star.

Harver steps forward with his hands in his pockets. "I don't know you, but you seem alright of a chick. We protect our own."

"I can't do this!" Liz exclaims. "I can't stand up for her when she is putting us all in this kind of danger." Liz grabs Patty's hand. "Come on Patty, we are leaving." Liz tugs at Patty's hand. Patty's hair kisses her jaw while she looks guiltily back toward me while Liz drags her away.

"I'm sorry everyone." She apologizes when they leave the barn.

"I can't do this either." Jaqueline says. I hadn't expected her to stay here. "I'm out." Jaqueline says, running out of the barn to hopefully catch up with the others.

Only Chrona and Kid are the ones left.

Kid sighs and crosses his arms over his chest. "I don't have anything against you. You are a nice person and I guess that is enough a reason for me to stay here." Kid smiles toward us.

"I-I'm staying too." Chrona says and looks kind of nervous. "I would rather stay here than abandon my group. We stand up for each other, right?"

Soul nods and pulls me close to me. "Okay. Then we know who are with us. Kid, who exactly how many Meisters are heading toward us and which groups?"

"Only one group." Kid says and I see him shuddering. "It is the Star*Clan."

Soul's eyes widen and he curses loudly. "Oh man, this is bad." Soul runs his hand through his hair, releasing me from his grip. "Black*Star, you know them the most, tell me about their usual pattern of moments and strategies? How can we escape them without any confrontations?" Soul storms up to a wall and quickly rolls up a dusty white curtain and grabs a white chalk.

"They are plenty of people. They would outnumber us with half their men. The Star*Clan are definitely after Maka. They won't leave the town if there isn't a reason for them to leave. The only reason to get them to leave is if they feel Maka's Grigori wavelength outside of the town, moving away." Black*Star rambles and the chalk in Soul's hands writes every single detail down. He doesn't stop for a single moment, he writes as fast as he can, he doesn't let the shriek of the chalk stop him.

"Fuck!" Soul curses and runs his hand through his hair. "Is that the only way? What will they do if they if we don't use Maka as a bait?"

Black*Star crosses his arms over his chest. "I think you already know. They will stay and keep searching for her until they come across her. They will use the Kishins in order to find them and they draw to her like flies to a lamp. The Meister will have a hard time finding her, but not the Kishins I give Maka a week tops if she hides."

"Wait!" I exclaim. This can't go on. "By protecting me you put your lives in danger, I can't let you do that."

Soul puts down the chalk and turns toward me, his hands in his pockets. "Of course we will put our lives on the line. You are a part of this group and everybody who is standing here at the moment will do everything they can in order to protect you."

I shake my head, feeling tears prickling my eyes. "No. You shouldn't protect me. I'm not worth protecting and laying down your lives for me. I'm not that special, no one would even notice I was gone if I was pushed off the face of the earth." The tears spill from my eyes and I look away from them. "Please, don't protect me."

"No." Tsubaki says. "We would notice if you were gone. _I_ would miss you a lot, and I would mourn you. I don't want to lose my best friend." Tsubaki walks up to me and grabs my hands. "I know you would do the same for me. We all would miss you Maka and I know you are the key to prevent all Kishin attacks. You are the person who can stop all of the Kishins."

"She is right." Black*Star says and smirks from behind Tsubaki. "We would miss you and you are our hope for a better future."

"You know I would do more than miss you." Soul says and walks toward me. "You know I would be crushed and I wouldn't forget you easily. You would be on my mind every day and every second of it. I would be more than happy to do everything in my power in order to keep you safe."

Tsubaki releases my hands and steps aside so Soul can stand in front of me. "You have friends and a life. I only have my father and he hates me. He would be crying tears of joy than of sorrow. It would be much better if I disappeared―"

"No." Soul says and grabs my hands. "You know that is a lie. We need you and I need you more than anyone in my life―"

"Thanks Soul!" Kilik says, chuckling.

Soul rolls his eyes. "You know what I mean." Soul gives my hands a squeeze. "Seriously Maka, we Meisters are your family and family stand up for each other."

I sigh and shake my head, tears trickling down my cheeks. "You have no idea…" I sniffle. "Just how lonely I have been and how much I have ever wanted someone I could lean on." I body slam into Soul and wrap my arms around his neck, burying my face into his shirt. "You are so stupid for making me cry like this! You are so stupid for putting your lives in danger because of me! I should be upset and hate you but I can't!" I cry and Soul wraps his arms around me, hugging me gingerly.

"You know you can't hate me or Tsubaki or anybody else. You have too kind of a heart to ever be able to feel hatred." Soul whispers and kisses my head. "The rest of you can continue training, I will come up with a plan of attack to take care of the Star*Clan."

"Right!" Black*Star says and the rest of the group scatters but Soul stays here holding me delicately, like I'm his favorite doll and he is afraid of breaking me.

"What was that about?" I ask, sniffles into his chest. "The Star*Clan and Black*Star? What do they have in common and why is everybody so afraid of them?"

"Black*Star used to be with them until he knew what their real motive was, he left them soon after that and I found him. That is when we made this group. The Star*Clan aren't like other Meisters, all they think of is money. They want to make a profit out of the Kishins to use them as a weapon for the military. Their goal is to be able to manipulate Kishins so they can be controlled, then the armies would pay billions for them and the Star*Clan would make large amounts of money." Soul rocks me in his arms gentle. "The Star*Clan is fearful because they have never lost a battle. They have the fearful Star family on their side, they are a group of assassins that kill people and Kishins for fun. When the Star*Clan wants someone, they send out the Star family to retrieve them and everyone in the way, will die."

I gasp, my bones start to shake and images of Soul and everybody else lying dead on the ground pops up into my head. "If they are that dangerous, then you need to leave and hand me over. I don't want you to―"

"No. We have already gone through this." Soul says and hugs me tighter into his arms. "I won't abandon you and we won't fight them. We will lead them out of the city that is all we will do with them, you know, give them a false track out of the city."

"Are you sure it will work?"

Soul chuckles and nods. "Of course, but for the plan to work, you can't go into your spiritual form at all until then. Your soul is more closed than ours, it is hard to feel you are a Grigori by being around you. The plan will be executed tomorrow."


	14. Chapter XIV

**Eventide **

**Chapter XIV**

The day quickly came to an end. Soul kicked my ass at the barn when we trained. He moved a lot faster from the day before and I barely had time to react. There was one time I managed to block his dagger, but that was only once. Even though it was only once, I got a kiss and Soul was actually proud I managed to progress in my training.

Soul drives me home and as soon as I get off, I hand him my helmet, or his helmet but a helmet he never uses. "I will pick you up for school tomorrow. I will give you further details about the plan then."

School. I had totally forgotten about it. I still haven't done all of my homework. I have been too busy with Soul, Hiro, Kishins and other Meister drama. I haven't heard anything from Hiro since the Kishin attack at the restaurant. I wonder what he thinks, if he has even thought about me at all.

"Okay, I will see you." Soul drops me off at a fake address and I walk inside of my house three houses down and I see my father passed out on the couch as always, the vodka bottle I gave him yesterday is empty. I don't feel like him storming inside of my room wanting alcohol, I walk to his bedroom and grab a bottle of vodka. I leave the bottle on the coffee table and walk up to my room and as expected, my desk is full with unfinished homework.

The joy of doing my homework is completely gone out of the window. I'm so tired and all I want is to take a shower and go to bed, but that isn't an option until I have gotten all of my homework done.

Opening my math textbook, I find pages of problems I need to solve. This will take at least two hours to do and then I have seven more homework to do.

I groan as I start to solve the first problem. This will be a very long night. Hopefully I will have the energy to take a shower in the morning. I stink with sweat and I still haven't changed out from the shameful clothes Soul seems to have a thing for. Stupid idiot. He just has to get me those kinds of clothes. I have told him I can just bring my gym clothes I wear at school, but then he says it is better to have separate clothes for school and to train at the barn. Unfortunately for me, since my father hates me, I only get the money from school that is all I have to use to live on. I can't spend my money on clothes, I need to make sure my father and I have food to eat and he has booze to drink.

So, I have no other choice but to use the clothes Soul has provided for me, even though they are skimpy.

After hours of doing two and a half of my homework, I can't do it anymore. The fatigue is wearing me down and I can no longer keep my eyes open. My eyes are heavy and I find myself slouching over my books. I need to go to bed, if I go to bed now I can get up earlier and―

The window suddenly shatters and glass litters my bed and floor. My eyes widen and I snap my head. In through the window comes a Kishin, it seems to grow larger and larger.

The Kishin is much larger and powerful than the previous one. It has fangs sharper than Soul's and claws more deadly than knifes. Green scales cover the Kishins body, providing a metal armor impenetrable from sharp objects. Its eyes are a vivid shade of red, it almost moves with life as fire. It is almost like the Kishin captured pure fire and inserted it into its eyes.

It grows loudly as it swings its mighty claws toward me. I gasp loudly and barely dodge the claws. A Kishin isn't supposed to be able to get inside! How can it be inside?!

I land in the shatter of glass and it cuts up my legs and hands really well.

It growls under its breath as it steps on the glass like it was nothing at all. It tilts its head and its eyes gaze at me. I know those eyes, I have seen those eyes before. Those are the same shade of red eyes that was inside of the forest. This is the Kishin that tried to grab me!

The glass crack under the force of its feet, the claws disappears underneath the skin of the Kishins palms instead of fingertips. It lower as it reaches out for me.

"No!" I exclaim and try to dodge the Kishin's hand. "Get away from me!" The Kishin grabs a hold of my foot and drags me through the glass, cutting me up in the processes. It grabs me with both it its hands and jumps out of the window. I let out a cry of pain when it squeezes me a little too hard, surprisingly, the Kishin releases its hold on me a little, although the damage was already done. My ribs have definitely suffered from it.

The cool air hits my skin and the moon mocks me with its presence.

"Damn you!" Someone yells and I find myself soaring through the air before I land roughly on the grass, forcing the air out of me. A pair of arms wraps around my shoulders and hoists me up from the ground.

"I got you." Tsubaki whispers.

"Take her to my place. Black*Star and I will take care of this." Soul hollers and everything turns to a blur. I feel myself being carried away from my house, but I don't know where. I can't even concentrate. My eyes are open, but yet it feels like I can't see anything, nothing at all except for these spinning colors. It feels like I'm about to throw up.

It doesn't take long for everything to turn darker and darker until nothing is there.

Slowly, I drift back to my senses.

"Will she be okay?" I hear Soul say.

"A couple of ribs were broken. They messed up her lungs, but she will be alright. Stein has fixed them so she should be alright, but she shouldn't be training for today. Give her the day off." That's Tsubaki.

Slowly I open my eyes and I find Soul and Tsubaki beside my bed or, Soul's bed since I'm in his bedroom.

"Maka." Soul says and I find him smiling toward me. "Please, tell me everything that took place." Something squeezes my hand and I find it is Soul's hand. Oh, I should have noticed that.

I groan and explain everything to them, about the sudden attack and how the Kishin went through the window without hitting the invisible barrier. I tell them how the Kishin took away its claws and instead grabbed me and jumped out of the window. Soul listens and nods occasionally, squeezing my hand when I tell him the wounds that the Kishin caused me.

"This Kishin is definitely a nuisance." Soul says and he fists his free hand. "The Kishin disappeared as soon as Tsubaki took you away from your house. It ran away with its tail between its legs." Soul leans toward me and he holds my hand with both of his, squeezing it. "You aren't going to leave my side. Ever. You aren't going to return home. You are going to stay in my apartment."

"What about my father?" Oh geez, I know how he would act. He wouldn't give a rat's ass if I suddenly disappeared. "Never mind."

"Just so you know." Soul caresses my hand. "We got you covered. Your father woke up from the window breaking. All he saw was Black*Star and I in the garden. He made up an assumption on his own. He thought Black*Star and I broke the window and you came with us. He thinks you ran away."

As much as I want to deny it, it hurts. My chest clenches and aches with pain. My father never liked me and I bet he was celebrating at this moment with a drink. I want to be a part of my father's life, but he doesn't want me. Maybe it is time to let go? Being around him only puts him in danger and with this Kishin that can enter houses, it is much better to be off without him.

"Please." Tears prickle my eyes. "Can I have a moment alone?"

"Of course." Tsubaki nods and walks out of the room, closing it behind her.

"I'm not leaving." Soul says, squeezing my hand. "Not when you are sad. You need support and you know I'm always here for you."

I can't stop my tears from falling. I end up crying and Soul gets up from his seat and crawls into bed with me, pulling me close to his chest. "Let it all out." Soul whispers into my ear, caressing my shoulder. "There is no use keeping it locked up inside. Let it all out and move on."

Move on? As much as he hates me, he's still my father. My only father and parent. After all these years, he has always been the one to be there, even though he was drunk and verbally abusive, he was still the one who put a roof over my head.

Now, I'm on my own. I don't have any parents to watch over me, but I do have Soul and Tsubaki. They are my new family and I need to stay close to them. I don't want to leave him. I really like him.

"You know you are too good for me." I sniffle, sobs into his chest.

Soul chuckles, his chest vibrating nicely. "Too good? I would think of myself as bad. I pulled you into all of this. I could have taken care of the Kishin outside of your house and then you would have lived a peaceful life. It would have taken a lot for anyone to find out about your Grigori soul, so you would have been safe."

"I would rather live like this than my previous life." I confess. "I'm of use now, even if I have been more of a burden. I have friends now and my father is safe, that is all that I care about really." I lift my head toward Soul and I wipe away my tears. "But I do want to know, how did you find out where I lived? I never once told you where I lived and I showed you to a fake house."

Soul chuckles and flashes his smirk. "Who do you think you are talking to? As soon as I had my eyes on you, I got Lord Death to show me your profile to get your address. I have known about the Kishin and your home for quite some time."

"Wait." I look confused at Soul. "Lord Death? The headmaster? How did you get him to show my profile to you?"

"By Kid of course. He knows about our… situation and abilities. He supports us all out by excusing us from class and faking some of our grades. The only condition is for us to study when we have the time."

"Do _you_ actually study?"

"Nope, never find the time. Either it is Meister stuff or I want to blow some air."

"What do you do when you _'blow some air'?_"

"It all depends. Sometimes I go to a bar and just enjoy the environment, but I never drink." Soul smirks. "Who knows what kind of trouble you can stumble onto and then you want to be as sober as you can be." Soul's hand runs down my back. "Other times I train extra to keep myself fit or I simply take the day off and listen to some music."

A small smile tugs at the corners of my mouth. "I got to know you."

Soul's smirk turns to a gentle smile. "I guess you did." Soul snuggles close and kisses my hairline. "So what do you think about the infamous Soul Eater; the school's bad boy?

I rest my head on his chest and I smile. "I really like what I'm seeing about you." I trace my hand along his chest, "But I do want to know how you got the scar."

Soul's smile slowly melts away and turns into sadness. Gently he puts his hand over mine. "I don't like to talk about it." He caresses my hand with his thumb. "But I do want to tell you about it. Only Wes knows about this because he was actually there when it happened." A loud sigh escapes his mouth. "It was one night, my parents were going to go out to a social event and since I could see the Kishins, I was afraid. I was fourteen and my brother was eighteen. I never shut up to my parents about the Kishins. I constantly talked about them to my parents and they thought I was crazy, only Wes believed me since I had shown him evidence of their existence. That night, my father had gotten enough, he snapped and he hit me in the jaw. He beat me to the ground before he threw me into a mirror. I was bleeding badly and Wes ran up to me. He took me to the hospital while my parents left for the social event. They did survive, but me and my brother never returned home. He said it was too dangerous for me to stay there and I would end up in a mental hospital. Since then we have been living on our own."

"Soul" I gently wrap my arms around his waist. "I had no clue… I'm sorry."

How can I only think about myself? I keep thinking that I'm the only one who has family issues and that everybody lives happily with their parents, how could I have been so wrong? It was selfish of me to feel this bad about myself when the other could have had worse lives with their parents. My father never put his hands on me, but Soul's father abused him and hurt him badly.

I couldn't be a brat about my family life.

"Don't apologize. I'm over it." Soul kisses my hairline.

"I'm sorry for being selfish about my home life. I should have considered that you guys might have had a rougher life than me."

"Don't apologize. All I want for you is to be happy and now you need to accept the situations. There are very few Meister who manage to keep their family intact and unfortunately, we aren't the lucky ones, then again, we would be more vulnerable if we had our parents in our lives."

"You have a point."

I'm not going to let my sorrow weighting me down ever again.


	15. Chapter XV

**Eventide **

**Chapter XV**

"You know, you look good as a brunette." Soul smirks while he readjusts the wig on my head.

I pout and look away from him. "I prefer my blond hair. What's up with these contacts? They are itching." Soul had not just given me a brown wig to wear, oh no, he had given me blue contacts and other clothes for me to wear. He said if a Meister from the Star*Clan sees me around Soul and then feels my wavelength, they might put two in two and hunt for me. I understand he is concern and want to be safe than sorry, but it was a _little_ bit uncomfortable for me to wear those clothes, wig and contacts.

"Just bear them this one day. I promise you as soon as we get back to our apartment, you can rip everything off." A large smirk grows on Soul's face. "And a surprise will be waiting for you."

"A surprise?"

Soul nods. "That's right. A surprise." He plants a quick kiss on my forehead. "Let's go. It is time to fool some Star*Clan members." Soul grabs my hand and we walk out of his apartment, descending the stairs to find his motorcycle outside. We both get on and I put on his helmet while Soul revives the engine. It roars mightily before it takes us away. The wind blows in my hair as Soul avoids crowded roads as possible. He lurks in the shadows and I'm surprised how few people that actually notices us. Soul's bike isn't exactly quiet and it is very flashy with its orange beauty, many more people should have noticed the bike but only a handful did.

The bike pulls into an abandoned road. Soul kills the engine and gets of his bike. "I will teach you a trick and the road you will be taking. You will be running alone or else our cover will be blown. I will be waiting for you at a specific place. I will keep an eye on you with my Soul Perception." Soul speaks while he opens the secret compartment to put the helmet away and taking up an ear piece. "Put this on. I will be giving you instructions through this." Soul hands me it and I put it into my ear.

"But it doesn't have a microphone, how am I supposed to talk to you?"

Soul chuckles and cups my cheeks gently with his strong large hands. "As much as I would want to hear your pretty little voice, you won't need to say a thing. All you need to do is listen to my voice and follow my instructions."

I nod understandingly. "Are you sure we will be alright?"

"Of course we are. I'm not going to let anyone touch you." His hands gently slides down my neck, my ribcage to then gently seat around my waist, pulling me closer to him. "I don't like when people touch what is mine. You might not officially be mine, but I'm going to work my butt off until I get you back." His forehead gently touches mine and his lips soar over mine, not quite touching but one little twist of my head and mine would collide with his.

"Now for the instructions." He murmurs and I can almost feel his lips feather over mine. He pulls away and takes a step backwards, giving me some space. "Switch to your spiritual form."

I nod and close my eyes. My heart beats strongly in my chest. Its beat can crush boulders and bones. "By the way, you never let me tell you what the difference was between our different hearts." Soul didn't say anything, but I knew he was listening. "It is difficult to feel it since the beat of the heart is overpowering it." That is when I feel it, the gentle waves of my soul wavelength. It gently caresses my skin and I feel how my heart and soul switch like a switch and I turn into my spiritual form. "The soul is like a gentle caress. It is the total opposite to our heart." Slowly I open my eyes and there is a nice white glow around me like I had seen was around Soul and Hiro.

"Good. I'm going to be quick with my explanation. For us to be able to fight Kishins we need to use the strengths we get when we are in spiritual form and the one you will need is speed. It is quite easy, you picture it in your mind how you move quicker and quicker, how your feet almost fly over the ground as you run faster than the wind." Soul backs away from me and gets on his bike. "Run around that tree and see if you got it."

It wasn't hard. I got it on my first try, I was almost shocked with myself of how fast I could move and I was even more surprised that I had the time to avoid all the trees and branches. It is amazing.

"Can you hear me?" Soul speaks to me through the walky-talky in his hand.

I nod toward him and he smirks.

"Okay, listen closely, run straight forward. That will lead you out of the city." I don't let Soul finish his sentence before I'm running forward faster than the wind. The trees and branches go right through me. I giggle and run faster. Everything around me should look like a blur, but it isn't, I can see every leaf and every branch in HD quality. This is so beautiful.

"Keep running. If you can, run faster, the Star*Clan has caught the bait. Don't worry, they are far away from you, they won't have any chance to catch up with you." Soul's voice breaks out through the speakers of the earpiece.

I don't want to think about it. I just keep running. I force myself to run even faster than I did.

"You are starting to close up on me. Don't lose your pace, just keep running." Soul says and I find myself smiling. Through the branches and trees I could spot Soul's bright orange bike. A bright yellow flash comes into view and I don't go through it as easily as the trees. I run right into it and I groan loudly, finding myself on the ground with a large headache.

"MAKA!" Soul hollers into my ear through the earpiece. I hear the branches break and I turn back into my physical form. Soul's arms wrap around me and he runs with me away from the forest, I find myself on Soul's bike and he speeds away.

"That didn't go as planned." Soul says while he carries me inside of his apartment. "What did you even do? Your head is bleeding."

I groan as Soul set me down on his couch. "I don't know, I just kept running toward you and then it was this yellow glowing thing and I ran right into it. Then I found myself on the ground with this massive headache."

Soul makes a low hum, that sound definitely means he is thinking. "The only reason you could have run into something in spiritual form is if you ran into a Kishin or something else." Soul runs his hand over his rough chin, he definitely needs to shave. "I wonder… the only reason I can come up with is a blood line. It is the only solution that can turn physical objects into solid forms inside of the spiritual realm."

Everything slowly starts spinning and I breathe deeply while I focus on one spot on the ceiling. "But why would they use this blood line out there?"

"I don't know. I will have to investigate it furthermore."

"Can you get this blood line around my house? I don't want that Kishin to get to my father."

Soul gently nods while he grabs my hand. "Of course, I will get Wes to work on some right away." Soul immediately grabs his phone and sends away a text to who I suspect is Wes about the blood line. A stark black color captures my interest and I see a large flat screen TV.

"Why is there a TV here?"

Soul chuckles. "Surprise."

Wait. So this is the surprise? A TV?

"Why did you get a TV? You said you never get a moment for yourself so why bother then with a TV?" I ask confused.

"It isn't for me. It is for you."

I blink my eyes rapidly. "For me? But I don't need a TV."

"I got it for you to keep you occupied. Now when the Star*Clan is moving out of the city, I still want to keep you here for quite some time before you go back to school. We don't have that many books and I doubt you want to do your homework all day long, so I got you the TV to keep you entertained." Soul smirks while he gently lifts my head and lowers it on his lap. "Besides, cuddling up on the couch and watching a movie doesn't sound like a bad idea if you ask me. It gives a sense of normalcy and takes our minds off Kishins and Meister stuff."

I giggle. Those eyes on his. They are hypnotizing.

When I was young, my mother always used to tell me the eyes were the windows to the soul, you could always tell if someone was lying by looking them in the eyes. The eyes do not lie. That lesson she gave me is the most important one and the one that stayed close to my heart. Every time I look into Soul's eyes, I see the sincerity and the affection dancing like flames. I don't know if it is a Meister thing, but I really can see his emotions in his eyes. I doubt if Soul would lie to my face today, I would be able to see through it.

It just feels much easier to read Soul, he isn't like a wall anymore and we are actually able to keep conversations going. The bored expression is gone and now he expresses what he is thinking and feeling. Before all of this Meister stuff, I never thought Soul was even capable of expressing his feelings. I thought he was unable social awkward or something, but it all proved to be to protect outsiders from harm and not get them entangle in the web of invisible enemies to their eyes.

"I could use some normalcy right now." I smile wide.

"Sure, what do you w―"

His phone starts to play a typical melody that comes with the phone. Soul sighs loudly and curses before he answers it. He doesn't say much, he makes humming sounds while he stares off toward the wall. His eyebrows narrows and his eyes turn into an ice-cold stare.

"I will come immediately." Soul ends the call and gently takes my head away from his lap. "Sorry, the movie night have to wait, they boys need me at the barn. You stay right here. Wes will come here before nightfall so you won't be alone for too long. The apartment is protected so that Kishin shouldn't be able to get inside." Soul says as he walks toward the door. "I will be back at sunrise. See you." The front door closes behind him and I hear him lock the door.

I sigh loudly. I'm left alone.

A feeling of abandon and sorrow overtakes me, weighting down my body. I shouldn't be feeling like this. I knew Soul wouldn't be able to be around me twenty-four seven, but I had still hoped for him to not rush out like that. He isn't my personal bodyguard. He needs to take care of the others too, when night falls they will need to fight the Kishins while I stay locked up here inside of the apartment.

If my soul wavelength was so dangerous and fearful to the Kishins, then why aren't I on the field fighting against them? I managed to achieve Soul Force before, so I can do it again.

I snap out of my thoughts when someone gently raps against the front door.

Who can that be?

Slowly I get up from the couch not to upset my poor head that much. Unlocking the front door to then open it, I was convinced I had fallen asleep on the couch, or I was unconscious inside of the forest or I was high on medicine that Stein had given me while he treated me because this can't be real. There is no way this can be reality, this breaks all the laws of logic and the system Mother Nature set up.

"Mama?"

Gently the woman with the same eyes as me smiles back toward me.

"Hello Maka." Her voice is still as high and feather light as ever. I swear I can even smell the familiar scent of tulips and tea from her favorite perfume my father had gotten her once on her birthday. "May I come in?"

Words were out of my vocabulary. No words existed as I stood at the doorframe gaping like I had something to say but the words flew away.


	16. Chapter XVI

**Eventide **

**Chapter XVI**

Being locked inside of the apartment was nothing like I had pictured it. There were absolutely no rainbows or romantic moments with Soul, no, instead Soul was running out of the apartment as soon as his phone either buzzed or called. Sometimes I just wanted to grab his phone and throw it out of the window and continue the movie night we were going to have. Many nights were spent with Wes, he was surprisingly a very rough guy. He did have the manners and the looks of a gentleman, but as soon as you rubbed him the wrong way, oh man, he would curse even worse than a sailor.

It seemed like I spend most of my time with him than Soul. Since Soul was always out at night, I spend my nights alone in his large bed just to wake up alone.

The days went far too slowly. My homework didn't manage to keep me occupied the whole day and the TV didn't offer me much entertainment. The few books they had weren't anything readable since they were cookbooks that Wes liked to use on weekends when he got a little more time to devote his passion for food.

"Can you pass me the vanilla sugar?" Wes asks as he fills a cup of water.

"Sure." I say, getting up from my seat by the table where I had watched Wes make the cupcakes. I grab the little yellow box and hands it to him. "Here."

"Thank you." He takes the vanilla sugar and starts pouring a little into a small cup where he adds a small amount of water and a few drops of blue food coloring. He stirs it and it soon becomes blue thick frosting. "Do you want to help me decorate the cupcakes?

"I don't know how to do it. I could accidentally mess them up." It was years and years ago since I had touched baking materials. The last time I did anything close to baking, it was when my mother was still alive. She had baked cookies and then the only thing I really did was read the cartoons out loud and handed them to her. It wasn't really baking, more like an reading exercise and it was a great way of rewarding me afterward with either a lick of the batter or a cookie. Or plenty of times, both.

Wes chuckles and puts the frosting into a tube, handing it to me. "Then I will show you. These cupcakes are only to us so nobody will mind if they are a little messy." I grab the tube in my hands and Wes steps behind me, wrapping his strong arms around me and putting his hands on mine. "Hold the tube like this." He says and gently arranges my hands so one is on top and the other gently holds the tube. "And now you gently squeeze it and draw circles on the cupcake." He squeezes my hand which squeezes frosting out of the tube. He makes a very pretty pattern on the cupcake with the help of a circler motion. The cupcake looks like it deserves a seat at a window of a very fancy bakery.

"It's so pretty."

Wes smiles and pulls away from me. "It is, but it will be eaten and then it won't matter if it is pretty or not." Wes leans against the counter and moves the cupcake away to put another chocolate one in front of me. "Now you try it."

I smile and do as he says, squeezes the tube and draws circles. It doesn't come out as nice as Wes's, but it was an okay attempt for being my first time frosting cupcakes.

"You know," Wes says as he angles himself so he can look at my face, "you have been acting a little weird lately. Is something on your mind?"

Oh, something was off alright. It was a few days since my dead mother had went up to the door. My whole world had been spinning off uncontrollable and I had no clue what to do. I had absolutely no control at all over my surroundings and as soon as I thought I got used to it, something would blow up in my face and prove me wrong.

It was so unreal. Seeing my mother walking around well and healthy must have been a dream even though I could touch her and feel her warm hand against my cheek. Her voice sounds too familiar and too real to be true. She hadn't stayed long, it was almost as soon as she had come inside, and she had to leave. The only thing she had really done was cup my cheeks and told me how much she loves me and my father, then, she did something I did not expect.

_"You aren't safe here."_ Her words ring freshly inside of my mind. _"You have no idea what his gang of Meisters really do. You have never seen them in action, have you?"_ I didn't want to believe it, but it did peak my suspicion toward Soul and his motives. _"We can be a family again, just come home and we can all go away from all of this. You won't ever have to worry about Kishins and we can all be one happy family again."_ She had kissed my forehead to then run out of the front door. I had regained my control over my body and followed her, but she was gone. There was absolutely no one outside and I was left alone again.

It was an intriguing offer. To have the clock turned backwards and go back to being a happy family with mother and father, it is what I had always wanted, it is my biggest and most impossible dream. A dream that could come true. She is alive and we can be a family.

But then again. If I would chose my family that would mean I would have to walk away from Soul and the gang of Meisters. They had sacrificed some of their Meisters in order to only keep the most devoted Meisters to protect me. If I walked out on them, what would they do? What would they say?

What would _Soul_ do?

I know I wouldn't be able to get away from him. He would always find me with his Soul Perception. Wherever I would run and hide, he would always be close behind to then find me.

"You keep spacing out like this," Wes says, snapping me out of my own thoughts. "You seem to be thinking about something, something that you aren't telling us about." Wes leans closer to me. "You know you can talk to us. We are your new family. If something is on your mind, you can tell us."

There is no way I can tell him about my mother. She said they weren't safe, which mean I can't trust them as much as I had. Something is going on inside of the group that I don't know about. I need to discover it while trying to find a way to contact my mother. She should have the answer to all of my questions.

"I―"

The front door slams open and I hear Soul mutter loudly, swearing colorfully. He doesn't bother with hanging his coat on the rack, he just drops it on the ground along with his keys, successfully leaving a trail to the living room where he plants his face on the cushions of the couch.

"Soul." Wes backs away from me, walking out of the kitchen and leaving me alone. I sigh loudly and grip the tube in my hand and continue to decorate the cupcakes with frosting.

That was too close for my own liking. If Wes is onto me, that means Soul also is. They are brothers and they communicate well with each other, he might not have noticed it, but Wes will definitely share his suspicion with him. This will make it even harder for me to find my mother and get away from Soul and Wes.

Maybe, in due time, my mother will appear again. Most likely not, but I need to cling onto something in order to keep myself sane. I need to focus on my goal, which is my mother. She holds all the answers, all I have to do is find her.

It isn't a secret that Soul still keep things a secret from me. It took him way too long to tell me about Soul Perception and about these strengths in spiritual form. He still only has told me about speed, what else kind of powers can I do when I'm inside of my spiritual form?

"Oh shit!"

"Is that what I think it is?" I hear Wes and Soul yell inside of the living room.

"Mak―"

Soul's voice drowns in the sound of the window right beside me shattering. I barely manage to cover my eyes and glass shards soar through the air before they hit the ground. A loud roar fills the apartment and the same Kishin I met inside of my house stands at the window sill. Its red eyes glaring at me as it licks it mouth.

"Maka." It mutters under its breath.

"MAKA!" Soul hollers, grabbing my hand and pulling me behind him so roughly I thought he would dislocate my shoulder. His hand slips through mine as he switches into his spiritual form. Quickly he fishes up his dagger inside of the waistband of his jeans and grips it tightly as he leaps toward the Kishin.

My eyes widen because Soul's dagger didn't make contact with the armor of the Kishin, his dagger including Soul went right _through_ the Kishin.

The Kishin gurgles and leaps toward me and Wes with its claws ready to cut us into pieces.

"RUN!" I scream and push Wes out of the way. The Kishin lands right beside me and I can tell that he is very much solid to me. His spiritual form will infect my soul if I don't get away from here right _now._

Wes runs toward the front door and closes it behind him. I stand my ground as the Kishin growls and drips saliva on the ground. "Maka…" It growls, its claws tearing up the wooden floor as it takes slow steps toward me. "Maka…" The Kishin keeps repeating my name over and over again as it steps closer to me. I counter by taking a step backwards.

My back hits the wall and the Kishin growls loudly, leaps toward me as it pulls its claws inside of its palms. It roars loudly in pain, visible shuddering as it falls down on its knees. A mop of white hair catches my attention behind the Kishin. The Kishin roars loudly as it quickly turns around, going right pass Soul again before it leaps out of the window.

"Damn it!" Soul curses loudly, quickly follows the Kishin but stops at the window, looking for the Kishin. "It's gone." He says a few seconds later. He turns on his heel and looks at me. "You alright? Did it get you?"

I shake my head. "No, but what happened? The Kishin went right _through_ you. How is that even possible?"

"It wasn't the Kishin that went through me, it was me who went through it. Somehow, that Kishin managed to switch to a physical body instead of staying locked in its spiritual form." Soul walks up to me and grabs my shoulders, his nails digging into them as he glares into my eyes. "This is serious. This Kishin can break through blood lines and easily get pass our defenses. The apartment isn't even safe. This means you will have to stay at the barn until its dead. There will always be at least two Meisters there at all time that can protect you."

"No."

"No? What do you mean no?" Soul says very ticked off.

"I have had enough of this. If that Kishin wants me, then I know it will get me one day. You can't protect me all the time. One time, it will either kill all of you or it will manage to get pass you and get to me." I point toward the window where the Kishin had disappeared through. "It will always disappear if it thinks it can't get to me. It will always go away just to return some other time. It will get me―"

"Then what the fuck do you want me to do?" Soul barks, grabbing my wrist roughly. "I'm not going to let it get to you. You can say that as much as you want, but I'm not going to back down until that thing is dead." Soul's hand traces down to my hand and entwines our fingers. "I love you and I'm damn not going to lose you, you hear me. I'm not ever going to let you go. Not now, not ever."

His eyes look at me with such intensity of love, anger and desire. He really does want me, but one day, I'm going to disappear, just like everybody else.

I don't know what to answer him, instead I release his hand and gently wrap my arms around his waist. My head rests against his chest and I listen to the sound of his heart, beating so strongly and steadily.

It doesn't take long for him to wrap his arms around me, holding me close to him.

He will try to keep my safe, but one day, he will slip up. Everybody always slip up at one point, just like I failed my mother, Soul will fail me one day.


	17. Chapter XVII

**Eventide **

**Chapter XVII**

Oh man, that night had been awful. Since Soul couldn't safely get me to the barn when the moon was up and the stars twinkling, all the Meisters had to get to the apartment. Let's just say, in Soul and Wes's small apartment with six shirtless guys with sweaty bodies, the testosterone level is high in the air and even I couldn't keep my eyes off their wet abs.

Well, especially since you are sandwiched between a shirtless Soul and a shirtless Wes on a very much too small couch for all of us to fit in.

"Dude, are you serious?"

"That can't be! No Kishin can break through the blood lines!"

"This Kishin is way too intelligent than the others!"

"We are going to be fucked if we don't kill it soon!"

"Everyone shut the fuck up!" Black*Star hollers, successfully shutting everybody up. "Let the man talk so he can explain everything!"

Soul sighs, running a hand through his hair, his sweaty body gluing into my naked arm. Oh why didn't they get an air conditioner? Seriously, I won't be able to handle all of these naked upper bodies forever, how does even Tsubaki do it? She is the only female here along with me, but she just stands beside Black*Star, not seeming to bother at all.

"Alright everyone." Soul says and I can smell the sweat radiant from his body. Oh his manly scent mixed with his even more amazing deodorant. "This Kishin can obviously shift into a human. That is the only way for it to get pass the blood lines. Also, this Kishin must be able to shift into a physical body in its Kishin form." Soul stands up and I feel his sweaty skin leaving patches of sweat on my body. "Our only target from now on is to kill that Kishin. That Kishin threats us and other humans."

"Hold on!" Kilik says, crossing his arms over his naked chest. "How are we supposed to find it? If it can shift into a human, then it could be anyone."

"If you haven't forgotten," Kid says, "Kishins still can't hide from us. Their souls can't be concealed. They are still tainted and if we use our Soul Perception, we will see their soul is tainted like a Kishin's."

"Yes." Soul says. "That is correct. Everyone needs to stay sharp and use your Soul Perception as often as you can, especially if you are close to Maka. The Kishin's motive as we know is Maka. She can never walk around without at least one Meister with her. We are no longer safe in daylight. It can control the dark so it can make the sun go away at any given moment."

"What are we going to do now?" Chrona asks while he skittishly rubs his arm.

"We are going to go in pairs. Black*Star, you will stay behind with Wes and Maka. If the Kishin returns I want you to give us the signal." Soul answers. "We are all going to leave in ten minutes." Soul informs everybody which they will be going with while all of them puts on their shirts and arms themselves with daggers, swords, guns and Kilik grabs his special iron gloves. What is he supposed to do with them? Beat the Kishin to death?

Soul assigns them the areas they will be scouting before they all leave one pair at a time. Tsubaki shares a quick passionate kiss before she and Soul leaves, without Soul even giving me a goodbye. They all leave the small apartment and only Wes, Black*Star and I remain inside of the apartment.

"Man," Black*Star sighs as he crashes down on the seat beside me. "I wanted to get some excitement too, not being locked here on babysitting duty."

"Black*Star." Wes hisses. "Don't be selfish. Don't forget, Soul made you stay behind for a reason. You are obviously a very strong Meister and if the Kishin arrives here tonight, you will be able to handle it while Maka and I escape."

"Well," Black*Star puffs out his chest. "If you put it that way, I _am_ the strongest Meister out there. I will wope that Kishin's ass flat with my left hand!"

Oh dear… Why did Wes have to buff his ego?!

Black*Star keeps going on and on about how amazing he is and how he will be the one to Kill the Kishin with his "godly skills."

How does Tsubaki even stand him? I have been sitting beside him for a few minutes, listening to his rant about himself, and I want to take a knife and cut his tongue out to get him to shut up. Stein could always fix his tongue afterwards if he was still alive.

"I can't stand this." I get up from the couch and I feel the sweat sticking to my tank top. "I'm going to go to my room." Or rather, Soul's room he just happened to give it to me since he hasn't been using it for some time now.

"Okay, I will start making dinner soon." Wes informs just before I close the door and flop down on Soul's large bed. Taking a deep inhale of Soul's pillow, his scent is long gone and replaced with my own. I miss his scent. It feels like it was an eternal since Soul and I got a moment alone to just talk. Weren't we going to get to know each other? It isn't going that well if we aren't with each other or even look at each other. Sometimes I wish that Kishins could just disappear and I could live a normal life. Have a normal boyfriend who doesn't kill Kishins at night. Have a normal family who I come home to every day after school to eat dinner with. Just a perfectly normal life.

I turn on my back.

A knock on the window almost sends me flying through the ceiling. Quickly I look out of the window and I see blond hair and blue eyes looking at me.

Quickly I open the window and Hiro smiles wide toward me. "Finally, I have been trying to get a hold of you for forever." Hiro jumps inside and onto the bed. "We need to talk." His blue eyes almost seem to light up the darkness inside of Soul's bedroom.

"Sure, but Black*Star and Wes are inside of the living room. We will have to be really quiet then." I whisper to Hiro.

Hiro smirks wide while he gets off the bed and lifts up the mattress. "Nah, we will go outside. Don't worry, I will keep you safe. I know a great place to hide away from people and Kishins." Hiro digs with his hand under the mattress before he retrieves something underneath it before he stuffs it inside of his jacket. "I will return it once we get back, but I will need it in order to get you to understand."

"Wait, what if Wes and Black*Star discovers I'm not here?" I ask.

"Don't worry, we won't be gone for long." Hiro climbs back up on the window and extends his hand toward me.

I take a second to look at his face and then back at his hand before I take it. He hoists me up on the window sill to then help me down the apartment. We were quite high up but it didn't take long for Hiro to help me climb down the tree that grew outside of Soul's window. Very convenient.

My feet hit the ground and Hiro follows just a second after. "Come on, we better get going." Hiro grabs my hand and we both start to jog away. "There are no Kishins around, but if you go into your spiritual form, then they will flock here. The best cover is to stay in our physical form and blend in with the others."

Hiro is very careful. We sneak through gardens and he looks around every corner before we run toward the next house. I have to admit, all the sneaking around in the dark is kind of exciting. I have never done something like this before. We go in a zig-zag pattern until we reach our destination, which proves to be a tree house. It very large for being a treehouse, it is made out of wood planks and it is obvious a grown person with building skills built it.

"Climb up." Hiro says while grabs the ladder and holds it toward me. "I will be right behind you." I grab the ladder and climb up until I reach the inside of the tree house, which is nicely decorated with a small table set and a two person couch. It is very nice decorated for a tree house.

Hiro climbs up the ladder and hoist himself up. "You have to keep an open mind, okay?" Hiro quickly says while he takes a seat on the couch.

"Is it really that bad what you are going to say?"

"Depends. I just want all the cards to be laid out, you know, so you know everything. I know Soul is good at keeping secrets and avoiding topics. I bet he hasn't told you it." He pats the seat beside him. I walk up to the couch and take a sit beside him, leaving some space between us. "Do you know anything about the one rule Soul's gang has?"

Rule? Soul has never said anything about any rule. "No, he hasn't told me."

"What a surprise." He says with sarcasm dripping from his mouth. "It all started when Soul and Black*Star started the group. I came along not that long afterward and it was just the three of us, well, technically four of us." Hiro pulls out the object from inside of his jacket and it proves to be a photo. A photo of Soul and a pink haired woman.

Soul looks utterly at peace, he smiles wide and his eyes sparkle with joy and― and love. Love for the woman who kisses his cheek. Soul has his arm around her and pulls her close to him while she has her arms wrapped around his neck. The two of them look absolutely content and love and passion just radiating from them. I don't think I have ever seen Soul look this in love and this happy. I have seen him smile, but they always were very small, but this smile, it is ten times larger and expresses so much emotions and love.

"This is Kim. She is Soul's first love and as far as I know, he isn't over her."

I bite my lower lip and my heart twigs in pain. It hurts more than I want to admit, all of those exchange of words, all of those kisses and promises, they were all lies?

"Kim is Stein's daughter. As soon as Stein got word about Soul was dating Kim, he tried to stop them as well as he could. It wasn't until he made a very important offer to Soul, Black*Star and me. He offered us his medical services and in exchange Soul and all Meisters would stay away from Kim. She is a Meister like us, but Stein wants her to have a normal life, therefore he doesn't want any Meisters around her." Hiro sighs. "At first Soul didn't want to accept the offer, and me and Black*Star almost forced the offer on him since we both knew we needed it. Soul came to accept it, and that is when he accepted the offer. Soul was heartbroken when he broke up with Kim." Hiro grabs my hand and entwines our fingers together. "I'm not going to lie, I pulled a very dirty trick. I knew Stein was suspecting something was going on between Soul and Kim and I had promised not to tell anyone about their relationship, but I sold him out and told Stein about it. Soul found out and ever since then, he has hated me for it."

"Why would you sell Soul out? I mean, you three must have been very close friends." I feel like I want to cry. The little feelings I had grown for Soul had literally shattered because I knew it was true. Just the look Soul had in the picture is proof enough not just me, but all of Soul's previous girlfriends, we were just rebounds for this one girl named Kim.

I was right from the very beginning. Soul only wanted to use me, just not as a rebound from Jacqueline, but from Kim. He is still in love with him. When he had talked about Kim, Soul seemed to be in such a happy daze, he clearly remembered her and how much he loves _her._ Not me. Not Jacqueline or any other girlfriend.

"He was spinning out of control. His love for Kim blinded him, and he became more and more reckless. He put Black*Star and I in danger by skipping going out at night and fighting the Kishins, instead he was with Kim. One night, Black*Star was so hurt I couldn't do it anymore. Their relationship had to stop or else one of us would end up dead because of their romance. It went too far and I had to get Soul to realize the danger he put us in, but he never understood it."

Hiro squeezes my hand and I have to admit, it kind of soothes my aching heart.

"So that is why you two have been fighting."

He chuckles. "More like he fought with me. I never had anything against him. As soon as we made the deal with Stein, I left the group because Soul kept freezing me out and snapping at me. It didn't make it any better that everybody seemed to take his side. I don't dislike Soul, I think he is a good guy, it is just some things he has done that are very stupid and irrational."

"And what might those things be?"

Hiro sighs and he looks down at our entwine hands. "Many things that revolve around you, first, keeping your true identity away from you, second, not telling you everything about Kishins and Meisters, third, he is taking far too many risks with you. He isn't protecting you properly and he isn't playing safe with you. He is taking far too many risks with you." His eyes wander up to mine and they lock. "In my own opinion, he is failing you. Everybody there is failing you. They aren't teaching you what you need to know, all they are doing is failing you and you know the worst part of it, you don't even know how badly they are failing you."

"Then enlighten me, how do you think they should treat me?" I feel like I want to disappear. I feel disconnected from Soul and I feel like I need someone else to help me. The Kishins won't stop coming at me, I need to know how to fight them properly. It was Hiro who has been the one to tell me the whole truth that Soul tried to hide from me.

"He shouldn't have left you alone with the Kishin running the streets. I have been spying on him and I can tell you that he has been looking at the wrong places. If I was the one in charge, I would have had you hand-cuffed to my hand. I would take you out at night and let you see how real Meisters live instead of keeping you tugged away in a corner. I would teach you everything I knew about fighting Kishins and how to kill them. The best way of protecting you is by teaching you to fight because we all know you are a Grigori. You are a very important piece in the Meister world. Grigories are the ones who are the most deadly to the Kishins. You are the one who can make a change in this toxic world. You are the only one that can truly stop the Kishins."

"Hiro." I whisper, looking into his eyes.

"You are the light we need." Hiro cups my cheek, his face much closer to mine than it had been. "We all need you." And the next moment Hiro's lips crush against mine. He presses his lips against mine while he caresses my cheek with his thumb. The kiss doesn't send shivers down my spine, it doesn't make my fingers tingle. I don't feel anything kissing Hiro. Even though I don't feel anything, it was quite nice.

Hiro pulls away and he chuckles. "I don't know about you." He whispers and he releases my hand and my cheek. "But I didn't feel anything."

"Me too!" Okay, maybe I was a little too quick and too cheerful. "I mean, I didn't feel anything either."

"So staying friends sounds good to you to?"

I nod happily.

A sudden shriek goes off and the dark sky lights up with a bright red light.

"That's the signal." Hiro quickly gets up from his seat on the couch. "They know you are missing."

My eyes widen and I spring up from the couch. "What?! They know? What am I going to do now?"

Hiro chuckles. "You know what I told you, about seeing the real life of a Meister, we could start tonight."

Tonight? It sounds like a great idea actually also a very stupid, dangerous and reckless decision, but he is right. I can't keep being kept inside of a glass locker like a fragile doll. I need to learn and I have always learned better under pressure. The previous fight outside of the restaurant, I might have flipped out, but that was the moment I learned how to shift into my spirit form and using the Soul Force. I might just be able to do it again.

I smirk wide. "Bring it on. I'm ready."

Let's go and kill some Kishin bitches.


	18. Chapter XVIII

**Eventide **

**Chapter XVIII**

"Great, before we start, Soul and the others must already know about your absence, so I will be quick before they snap up on our souls." Hiro says while he pulls up a dagger from his steel boats. "In spiritual form, everything is based on your will and desire. If you want to run faster, then think and picture how you run faster. If you want to be stronger, then desire it. If you picture it and truly want to be stronger, then it will happen. The same goes with Soul Force. All you have to is want to kill them and the Soul Force will come to you." Hiro hands the dagger before he turns into his spiritual form, making his body glow a nice white color. "Now hurry up and switch. They will find us soon and we need to find a better place to fight these Kishins."

"Right!" Quickly I switch into my spiritual form and, jump out of the tree house, not bother to use the ladder. We land on the grass with a hard thud before we take off running in an inhuman speed. Hiro and I avoid the barriers of each house since now we are under the laws of spirits. Hiro dodges them expertly and he uses the shock of the barriers around the houses in order to gain more momentum.

Surprisingly, I don't need to use those since _Hiro_ seems to have a hard time keeping up with _me_.

I'm forced to slow down in order for Hiro to be able to lead the way, but it doesn't take long before we cross a road with a car going right through us, before we reach an open area just by the woods.

"This is the best place to fight at, an open area far away from humans." Hiro says and he fish up a dagger from his waist band, but it doesn't stay as a dagger for long. With a quick whip of the dagger, it grows larger and turns into a very elegant sword.

Kishins roars loudly and red eyes light up inside of the woods. That's a lot of Kishins, how are we going to be able to take on all of them?

"Hiro," I back toward him, grips the dagger so hard I almost break my skin, "there are too many for us to take on. Aren't we supposed to run?"

Hiro chuckles as slowly the Kishins step out of the shadows of the woods. "Then I will teach you something. I'm going to teach you how to use Soul Perception. Close your eyes and think of seeing people's souls. Think of them as blue orbs and how you can see their presence when your normal eyes can't. When you have pictured it in your mind, open your eyes and you will see them."

I nod. "Right!" I close my eyes and everything turns dark. The wind caresses the grass and the Kishins growl lowly. It is quite difficult to actually picture those blue orbs that is supposed to be souls when I have never seen them, hopefully I manage to get it right by desiring to see them than actually picturing them.

When I open my eyes, I can't see the trees that surround us and the Kishins that slowly sneak toward us, everything is dark except for the blue soul that is right beside me. That is Hiro's soul. I freeze when I notice just how many Kishins that are around us. Red souls move toward us and more are concealed inside of the woods. There must be at least twenty Kishins here and I have a feeling more will tag along.

My eyes then catch the sight of a group of blue souls that move in an inhuman speed toward us. Seven souls move toward us and it is clear that they are Meisters and not Kishins. One soul moves faster than the others and will arrive here in less than half a minute, but why are they moving here? What do they want?

"A group of Meisters are moving toward us." I state and I close my eyes, wishing the Soul Perception to go away.

"Not just any group of Meisters, that is Soul, Black*Star, Harvar, Kilik, Tsubaki, Kid and Chrona." Hiro chuckles as I open my eyes and everything is back to normal. "I guess we will have to work more about the characterization with your Soul Perception."

The Kishins are far closer than I thought they were. The braver and more insane Kishins move faster toward us and they will leap at any given moment. "Another lesson, you are faster than us others and your reflexes are remarkable, use those in order to get behind them and use Soul Force. One scratch of their claws and you will be infected and if you are behind them, it is harder for them to actually hurt you."

The Kishin drool happily as they look at me, their claws clatter excitedly. One Kishin with a short nose and a dog tail roars loudly and leaps toward me.

"Get behind it and use Soul Force, you can do it." Hiro says as the Kishin leaps toward me and swings its mighty claws at me. The Kishin moves fast, I have to agree with that, but as its claws are just a foot away from me, everything seems to slow down. The Kishins seems to freeze in the air with its claws moving an inch at a time toward me.

Is this a Meister power or a Grigori thing?

As the claws are just about to touch my skin, my feet move faster than my mind can comprehend. I find myself behind the Kishin and it makes confusing sounds. I picture in my mind how my hand light up with the sparks as my mind fills with images of the Kishin that patrolled me for years, how I had seen it run away just to return with blood between its gums along with blood caked its body. All of those innocent people that I could have saved if I only knew about this curse― this gift. I'm not going to let anyone get killed on my watch ever again. I won't allow it.

I will kill every Kishin I come across!

My hand sparkles alive and my soul wavelength courses over my hand violently and roughly, lucky for me it doesn't hurt at all. I lay my hand on the Kishin's back. It hollers loudly and a second later it turns to ashes.

"Good Maka!" Hiro smirks toward me. "You got number two behind you!" Hiro then leap into fighting a Kishin, his sword blocking the Kishin's claws.

Quickly I turn on my heel and Hiro is right, there a Kishin comes running toward me in full speed, but to my eyes, he doesn't run that fast. I hold the dagger tightly in my hand, preparing myself for blocking the Kishin while I keep the Soul Force alive in my left hand. The thing is it wasn't my dagger that blocks the Kishin's claws. It is Soul's.

"Maka." Soul clenchs teeth. "Are you stupid? You got to run. You are in danger here." Soul pushes the Kishin away with the dagger and leaps toward it. "Go. Get away right _now._"

"No. I'm not going anywhere." I follow Soul and get in front of him, blocking the Kishin's claws. "I'm not going to let you keep me locked up. I only agreed to be a Meister in order to save people from the Kishins. I'm here to kill Kishins." I push the Kishin's claw away and use the opportunity to rush toward the Kishin's stomach and I hit it with my Soul Force. As the other Kishin, it roars loudly before its ashes slowly meet the grass. I turn back to Soul and I glare at him. "I won't let you take me away from the front lines. I may not be the best fighter or the strongest there is, but I'm going to work hard and I'm going to save as many people as I can because no one deserves to lose someone they love because of a Kishin."

Soul growls as he moves closer to me. "You have no clue what you are getting yourself into."

We are standing at the center of the battlefield, the other Meisters including Hiro are all fighting Kishins.

"I do know. I'm at the battlefield right now. I know I will see some horrible things but I'm ready to meet that." I straighten my back as much as I can in order to look larger and more dangerous.

Soul bares his teeth and snarls at me. He drops the dagger and grabs my shoulders. "No, you don't know. I'm trying to protect y―"

"I don't want your protection!" I yell in his face. "What I want is to fight." I slap his hand off my shoulders and backs away. "You aren't going to keep me away from the Kishins."

He must have been able to read my intentions since when I turn around and about to leap to help the other Meisters, Soul grabs my wrist and turns me toward him. "I get you want to be of use, but you don't understand. This is way larger than you can ever imagine." Soul's hand gently releases my wrist and he entwines our fingers. "You have to trust me on this one. You can't go out fighting."

"How am I supposed to trust you when you keep a bunch of secrets from me?"

Soul sighs and runs his free hand through his hair. "I can't tell you everything because if I do, you will freak out and get scared and I can't have that happen to you. Just trust me, you are better off not fighting."

"No Soul." I rip my hand from his. "I won't ever be better off not fighting. I can't trust you. I would rather deal with the fear than having an important person lying and keeping secrets from me."

Okay, I slipped. I wasn't supposed to say that part, especially not to Soul! He is an important person, but I don't want to admit it to him, not after what Hiro told me about Kim. There is no way I could compete with her. WAIT! I'm not competing with _anybody_ over him! If someone wants him, then I would rather step back and let them have him because things between Soul and I never seemed to be good. There were always communication problems, lies, secrets and no time for us. To summary everything, everything was wrong with our relationship and it should never have happened.

Soul sighs. "I know I have lied to you in the past, I get it, but every time I lied, it was for a good reason. I'm not telling you a bunch of stuff because you are better off without them. You are safer without them."

I growl and roll my eyes. "Is that what you said to Jaqueline and all of your other ex-girlfriends? That you wanted to keep them safe and that is why you are so shitty at communicating?" I turn on my heel and this time, Soul let me go. I run toward Hiro who is fighting a Kishin, he doesn't seem to have any problem with it, but he is the one I know the most aside from Soul. There aren't many Kishins left, the last Kishins are the ones that we are fighting.

When I arrive beside Hiro, the battle is already over, I'm surprised that they don't kill the Kishins the way I do. I simply touch them and they turned to ashes, but Hiro, he cuts off their heads and their heel tendons before he puts his hand on their back, and it doesn't turn into ashes until nearly half a minute has gone by.

"Hiro." I say while Hiro stands beside the pile of Kishin ashes. "How come it took you so long to kill it?"

He turns toward me with a gentle smile. "You know everybody can't be as amazing as you are. Fighters might have a strong purifying wavelength, but it still takes a while for us to kill them since Kishins' madness is so dense."

"It is? But they are gone just when I touch them."

"That is because your wavelength is so strong when it comes to purifying madness."

"Hiro?" I know if there is someone who will tell me the truth, then it is Hiro. "Soul won't tell me something, he says I'm better off not fighting, do you know why that is?"

Hiro tilts his head in confusion. "Huh? Isn't that just because of overprotectiveness because you are a Grigori? I'm sorry, but that is the only reason I can come up with." I see it in his eyes, he is lying as well. He knows something and he refuses to tell me. What is it they are hiding?

My eyes abandon Hiro and I look toward the others. Their Kishins are dead and the field litters with the ashes of the Kishins. Harvar lies on the ground with Tsubaki sitting beside him, he must have gotten hit by a Kishin, but he seems fine. Tsubaki must have taken good care of him.

"How come, I get the feeling that everybody is hiding something from me?"

"You must be paranoid then. You know I tell you everything I know."

Not this time, Hiro. Not this time.


	19. Chapter XIX

**Eventide**

**Chapter XIX**

It was very awkward. After the battle we all parted ways and Soul and I went back toward the apartment with no care in the world. Soul didn't bother to talk to me and quite frankly, I didn't want to talk to him either, not after I said those mean things to him. In a way, those things needed to be said since he was truly bad at communicating and he could do something about it. If he wants us to be together― Ha! We both know he would rather be with this Kim person.

That night when he got back home, I went to bed while Soul had to calm down a very worried Wes. Soul didn't come and sleep in the same bed as me, he slept on the couch.

Morning came and I wasn't going to ignore school. I have ignored school far too long and I needed to go to school and straighten out my presence and try to do something about my absence.

Although, Soul had different plans than to let me go to school.

"Let's go on that date."

I almost spat out the orange juice I was drinking in surprise. "What?"

"Let's go on a date." Soul leans back in his chair and wraps his arms behind his head. "You know, communication is the key to a healthy relationship with anyone. Obviously I'm not good at it and I want to set things straight between us. I really do want things to work out between us and we haven't been able to relax and actually take some time for ourselves. I think we both could use a day off of school."

"But―"

"I know what you are thinking, and one extra day off of school won't hurt you. Kid will talk to Lord Death and he will take care of your records. He will make sure you are clean for graduation." Soul smirks and moves closer to the table and props his arms on the wooden surface. "So what do you say, do you want to go on a date?"

"Are you sure I'm not a rebound?"

Sometime I just hate me and my big mouth.

Immediately I shove a toast into my mouth, trying to hide my heated cheeks with my bangs. That didn't really help anything.

"Of course not." Soul says and gently cups my cheek, guiding my face so he looks into my eyes. His eyes are so soft and filled with love. "I really do love you. You are as far away from a rebound as possible. I know you are the real thing."

Why do I have to think of the pink haired girl and the spot where her lips had once been on Soul's cheek? I do like Soul, but sometimes being with Soul seemed just like a dream that would never come true, just like a far off memory you would never be able to remember.

Even though he still is into Kim, I do want to hang out with Soul.

I sigh. "Fine. I will go."

Soul smirks and grabs my hand. "Then let's go."

My eyes widen. "Now? Like, right now?"

Soul stands up from his seat, still holding my hand. "Yeah, what else?" Soul then cracks up smirking wide. "Or is it that you want to be all dolled up for a date? You know I would rather have you looking like this than being all caked up in makeup."

Oh, so he would rather have me walking around in sweats and a tank top. Interesting. I will have to keep that in mind.

"I would just want to change clothes. It won't take long."

"It better." Soul releases my hand and I disappear into Soul's bedroom. I find my backpack with the little clothes I brought from my home and change into my typical skirt along with a nice t-shirt. If he likes me wearing comfortable clothes, then that is what I'm going to go with.

After getting dressed, Soul and I leave the apartment and leave a note to Wes behind explaining where we went, although, Soul doesn't want to tell me where we are going. So I just hope on his bike and Soul drives away from the apartment. We make a pit stop at the supermarket where Soul asks me to wait by the bike. It takes a while for him to get out and when he does, he holds a plastic bag in his hand, which I of course aren't allowed to look inside. He keeps telling me, "You will know in due time," before he holds the bag in his arms as he gets on the bike, drives away.

It feels nice being with Soul, having my arms around his waist, my cheek resting against his leather jacket and the wind whipping my hair. His smell coating me in what seems like a nice dream. Everything feels so normal, a boyfriend taking out his girlfriend for a mysterious date. Soul might not be my boyfriend at the moment, but I would like him to be again, but then we have this Kim person. I need to know from his mouth about Kim.

"We are almost there." Soul yells over the powerful wind as he pulls into an abandon road.

What is up with Soul and abandoned roads and forests?

Soul goes a little slower since the bike bumps violently because of the pits in the road along with the gravel. The branches of the trees growing close to the road almost whip our faces.

"Are you sure we are going the right way?" This place is giving me the creeps.

"Yeah, we are almost there."

And he is right. It doesn't take long until Soul kills the engine and gets off the bike.

"Soul." I say while I get up from the bike, taking off the helmet. "But this place is kind of creepy."

I hand Soul the helmet and he puts the helmet away. "It is." Soul agrees, wrapping his arm around my shoulders. "But there is a beauty to this place." Soul steers me away from the bike and we continue to walk along the road. "This place makes me think about life." The ugly naked branches claws at my jacket and Soul pulls me closer to him in order to keep me away from the branches. "Life is tough. It never is picture perfect. We go through harsh times that might knock us to the ground."

Soul moves the branches aside, revealing the most beautiful place I have ever seen. I gasp loudly at the utterly beautiful view. There is a large meadow with colorful flowers along with flower bushes and a large apple tree in the middle of all the flowers and bushes.

"But in the end, it will always be much better after you get through the hardship."

Unconsciously, I walk away from Soul, my lips slightly ajar as I watch the leaves rustle and gently sway side to side in the wind. "How did you find this place?" I finally ask.

"I stumbled upon this place. At the moment, I was enraged and as soon as I found this place, the anger just disappeared and from that day, this place has always been my sanctuary. This is the place I escape to when I need a break from everything and can pretend that I don't have any problems at all." Soul joins me by my side and he entwines our fingers together. "I want you to know me, better than anyone else does. I have never brought anyone here before, so I guess I kind of want this place to be yours as well."

Slowly we walk toward the large tree that decorates the meadow. "You know for me to know you better than anyone else, we will need a lot of time alone and you constantly talking about yourself."

Soul chuckles and squeezes my hand lovingly. "I don't mind being alone with you. I want us to have some normal teenage time together. I have to say that is the best part about Meisters, when you do have time and the energy to go on dates, they prove to be much better than imagined."

I couldn't deny it. We hadn't slept that much this night, but it feels good doing something together, just the two of us without drama and Kishins.

This is what I want, right here in this moment, just taking it easy with the guy I like.

We reach the tree and Soul releases my hand, putting down the bag on the ground. He jumps up in the large apple tree and climbs up on the branch. He reaches upward and grabs a blanket out of the tree before he jumps back down. "It can get a little chilly since we are close to the lake."

"A lake? But we are in Death City, I don't think there are any lakes here." I comment as Soul spread the blanket out on the ground before he takes a seat on it.

"I don't think no one knows about it since the woods covers it. It isn't that large of a lake, but it is a good lake to go and bath in. It has a nice sand floor and there isn't much seaweed in it." Soul pats the spot next to me and I take it immediately. Soul wraps his arm around my shoulders.

"It sounds like a pretty amazing place." I rest my head on his shoulder and I allow myself to relax in his strong arms.

"It is." Soul gently caresses my bicep with his thumb. "But I want to talk to you about myself if it is okay with you?"

Is Soul nervous? "Yeah, of course you can. I want to know more about you."

"Okay." Soul inhales loudly. He is nervous! "My favorite color is green. I would rather sleep than going to school and salmon is the best food ever."

"Salmon?" I open my eyes and look Soul in the eyes. "It isn't even good. It tastes too much of fish."

"That is because Salmon is a fish."

"I know! And that is why I don't like it."

Soul chuckles lovingly and plants a kiss on my head. "Tell me one thing about you now." Soul murmurs against my hair. "If you could go to any place on this earth, where would you go?"

That is a good question. I haven't really given that much thought since I always was so into my books. "To be honest, I don't really know. The first thing that pops into my head is the library. I have always enjoyed being surrounded by shelves full of books. It is a very peaceful place so I guess I would want to be at a place full with books."

Soul just couldn't help but laugh lovingly. "You are such a bookworm! That is a typical Maka answer."

I blush a little and bury my face into the nook of his neck. "Just tell me what place you would like to be at."

He stops laughing immediately. "A place where the sun never goes down." He says it with such desire and his eyes stare off into nothingness before he snaps back. "Of course, I would want you to be beside me."

For some reason, Kim pops up in my mind, how she lovingly kissed his cheek and Soul looking so happy and content. I can't keep pretend like Hiro never told me about them, that picture has been haunting me ever since he showed it. I need to hear his side.

"Soul?"

"What is it?" Soul sounds very worried. He must have picked up on my seriousness.

I take a deep breath and pull away from Soul, putting some space between us. That seems to concern Soul even more since he grabs onto my hands and searches my eyes for answers. "Hiro told me something about y―"

"Hiro?!" Soul growls loudly, his large hands tightening around mine while his eyes narrow. "He is a snake! He will do everything in order to sabotage me! Everything he says isn't true!"

"Soul!" I exclaim. "I know he wasn't lying because I saw a photo of you and Kim!"

His eyes widen and I can see his heart getting caught in his throat. The grip on my hands are unbearably tight, almost bone crushing. He almost looks like he has turned into a statue and he is forever locked into that state.

"… What photo?"

My heart drops to my stomach. So there are more.

"The one you kept under the mattress. The one when she kisses your cheek." Why does it feel like I want to cry and run away?

Soul sighs loudly, running his hand through his hair, successfully escaping the statue state he was in. "What do you want me to say?"

Tears burn my eyes and my heart aches. I'm going to break down and I don't want to do it in front of Soul. "You don't need to say anything. I get it." I can't stay any longer or else I will end up crying in front of him. Immediately I stand up and I run away from the apple tree and from Soul. My tears spill over and unwillingly a sob escape my throat.

I don't get very far before Soul grabs my wrist and pulls me to his chest, fortunate for me, he doesn't make me face him. "No, you don't get it." Soul's arms wrap around my waist and gently rest them on my stomach. A loud sob escapes my lips as tears trickle down my cheeks. "She was my first love, the one I was telling you about. I know it is weird to keep a photo of your ex, but you got to believe me, Maka. I'm over her. I love you and only you." Soul whispers into my ear. "What exactly did Hiro tell you?"

"About her being Stein's daughter and how Hiro told him about your relationship, how you were forced to end the relationship and how your hatred toward him fueled." I sob loudly and I hate myself for exposing me like this to Soul.

Soul sighs and rests his forehead against my shoulder. "So he didn't lie…" He whispers. "Just because our relationship ended abruptly doesn't mean I still love her to this day. I don't want her. I want you. I love you Maka Albarn, you are the one I have my eyes on and even if I could be with her, I would chose you. Always."

I can't deny it, I'm crying rivers and I can't control my violent sobs. I'm shaking badly in his arms and he holds me so tightly, supporting me so I won't fall down on the ground. "But why did you keep that photo? If you truly were over her, then why did you keep that photo underneath your _mattress?_"

"I didn't look at it. I haven't looked at it for months. If it makes you happy, I would burn that photo as soon as we get home." Or he won't. Hiro still has the photo. Soul sighs loudly and he buries his nose in my neck. "Let me guess, Hiro has the photo?"

"Yeah." I sniffle and wipe away my tears. "Can you just leave me alone for five minutes? I don't want you to see me like this."

"Not gonna happen." His arms release my waist and Soul gently spins me so we are facing each other. "Remember we are here to get to know each other. Letting each other see our most vulnerable states includes in our knowing each other." His hands gently pull me into a tender hug while his fingers caress my spine. "You don't need to be afraid or feel threaten by Kim because she is in the past, you are my presence." Wait, is that a smile growing against my head. "I have to say, and this is the only time I will say it, but Hiro and Black*Star was right back then. I did put Kim before everything and I put them in danger. They could have died because of my recklessness. You can't ever tell Hiro about this."

I sniffle and an awkward laugh escapes my vocal cords, the tears slowly disappear into Soul's t-shirt.

"I promise."

"This is another get to know me thing to put inside of your backpack." Soul says and gently pulls away, wiping my tears away with his thumbs. "After that moment, I made a promise to myself that I would never put anyone in my team in danger. I would do everything in my power to keep them safe."

My tears stop and I gently grips Soul's shirt, resting my forehead on his chest, feeling his heart beating steadily. "Tell me just one thing, was all of your previous girlfriends including Jaqueline rebounds?"

Soul nods against my head. "Yeah, the three ones after Kim were rebounds, those didn't last very long while Jaqueline, I could say she wasn't a rebound, but she wasn't anything serious at the same time. You, you are definitely the real thing I have been looking for." His hands are far too large. They so gently hold me toward his chest by my lower waist.

"So, you really do love me?" I remove my face from his chest and Soul lifts his head off of mine. Our eyes lock. His eyes look so sincere and authentic.

"Yes." He doesn't even hesitate. "I love you whole heartedly."

"I wish I could say the same… I feel kind of bad not being able to say it back to you."

Soul chuckles and gently cups my face, resting his forehead against mine. "I can wait for that, but I do want to know, do you think you know me enough to get back together with me? I know I'm being impatient and immature by asking it, but I really, _really_ do want to know and I love you so much it feels like I'm going to explode if I'm not able to be with you and show you all of these feelings of mine."

My heart stops for what feels like minutes. Every function in my brain shuts down temporarily as his proposal goes through my mind over and over again. I can't deny the fact that I am attracted to him and I really do like Soul a lot. I don't want him to have someone else and I don't want anyone else than him. I can really see myself growing to love him, so maybe getting together with Soul again is a good idea.

"You know, you do already show me all the time how you feel. You are very touchy of yourself." Just to prove my point, I gently put my hands over his and caress them with my thumbs.

Soul chuckles heartily, moving even closer to me. "That's because I love you and I love touching your body." Our noses bump as he gently caresses my face. "And you know I can always get even touchier if I'm allowed to touch you in public~"

"On that note, I would say no." I giggle teasingly while I pull away from Soul.

"Come on." Soul says taking a step forward while I counter by taking one backwards. "You know you like me. We both know we can't stay away from each other."

"If you want me," I smirk wide while I switch into my spiritual form. "Then you better catch me." Quickly I turn around and run away from Soul.

"Oh it's on!" Soul yells after me and I can feel his soul wavelength behind me.

I giggle loudly as I run as fast as I can into the forest surrounding the meadow. I don't care about the trees or the branches that whip right through me. I don't even know where I'm running since the trees are many and the naked branches are covering the view in front of me.

"You can't catch me!" I yell as I keep running faster and faster.

"Oh I will catch you!" Soul screams. He isn't as far behind me as I thought he was. He actually sounds pretty close.

The forest suddenly clears and my eyes widen. I come out of the forest and I'm on top of a large cliff with a view of the lake Soul was talking about. The sun perfectly reflects its light on the surface of the water and with the ghostly forest surrounding it, it is far more beautiful that I thought it would look like.

Suddenly Soul body slams into me and we go flying off the cliff toward the lake. "Don't turn back." Soul whispers into my ear as he holds me close to his chest. As we break the surface of the lake, the water doesn't ripple and the water doesn't feel cold against my skin of my ghost body.

Our eyes lock. He smiles gently toward me, holding me close by my waist. "I caught you." His lips slam onto mine and my breath is taken. His tongue slides into my mouth and a shock of pleasure shoots through my body. I discover the calming reality that I don't have to hold my breath underneath the water even though Soul has already stole it away from me, I can breathe just like if it was air.

My arms find Soul's neck before my fingers find his wild hair while my legs wrap around his waist. His hands touch what seems like my entire body since it is on fire with pleasure. First they are on my back before they suddenly are on my bump until I find them in my hair.

We reach the surface and the kiss breaks. "So I guess this means we are together?" He murmurs against my lips and I shiver pleasantly.

"That is what I want at least."

"And what you want is exactly what you get." Our lips smash together once again and it just proves how much I have missed Soul, having him hold me and kiss me with so much passion. He showing his affection is addicting.

I remove my lips from his and rest my head on his chest. "It feels like my heart is going to explode." I mutter lowly. I thought Soul wouldn't hear me, but oh boy I was wrong.

"I hear you, now you know what state I have been all this time." He murmurs against my hair.

I jump out of my skin in surprise and to my dismay, Soul's touch goes right through me and the cold water envelops my body.

I accidentally dropped my spirit form.

A loud shriek of the sudden cold assault on my body leaves my body as I immediately shivers, missing Soul's touch.

"Maka!" Soul says and he does the same mistake as I, dropping the spiritual form since he soon curses because of the cold water. "Holy shit!" He grabs my hand. "Let's get out of here before we turn into popsicles!"


	20. Chapter XX

**Eventide**

**Chapter XX**

"It's so cold!" I yell as I try to regain my warmth on the blanket by the apple tree. My teeth clatter violently as I rub my arms with my hand in an attempt to warm myself with friction. It is failing really badly since I'm still just as cold as when Soul and I crawled up on the shore, getting loads of sand stuck to our clothes.

"I know." Soul says as he takes off his jacket and hangs it over the branch of the tree. My lips twitch when Soul takes off his t-shirt, exposing his perfectly tan and curved muscles. "You will dry faster if you take off your clothes."

My eyes widen and my fists clench. "You perv! You just want to see me naked!" I blush badly while I look away from him. Taking off my clothes is a tempting idea. With my clothes off, they would dry faster and hopefully the sun would warm my frozen body faster. Feeling Soul's skin against mine also seems like a great idea.

All I want to do is rip my clothes off.

"You know I'm pervy when it comes to you." Soul winks as his hands finds his fly and he undoes it. His pants pools around his ankles before he picks them up and they join the rest of his clothes on the branch. "Besides, you do get warmer and you know body heat warms you up the greatest." In Soul's half naked glory, he strolls over to me and takes a seat like he doesn't even know what he is doing to me. His chest glisters deliciously with moist and his black boxers are slim to his junk. I can see the flaccid junk of his in his boxers.

"Fine." I say reluctantly, although, I'm _very_ willing to lose my clothes. I take off my shirt but as soon as I lose my skirt, I feel very _self-conscious._ Soul takes my clothes and put them up on the branch, his boxers hugging his ass. Best ass I have ever seen.

When he turns back around, his smirk disappears because I quickly wrapped the blanket around me, covering me from his eyes. He frowns toward me as he kneels in front of me. "I want the blanket too. I'm freezing."

"Oh really?" I put my hand on his arm, his skin much warmer than my hand. "You are way warmer than me."

Soul smirks wide and grabs the corner of the blanket. I'm surprised when he crawls underneath it and wiggle beside me inside of the cocoon of the blanket. His naked arm wraps around my bare waist and pulls me even closer to him. "The blanket has enough room for both of us." Soul rests his forehead against mine and smiles gently toward me. "With us two together now, you don't need to feel insecure about your body. I mean, it is okay to be insecure, I am too, but we don't have anything to be worried about."

"_You're_ self-conscious? Oh my… Soul, you have literally the hottest body out there." Is he serious? He has those crazy muscles along with the perfect tan. Sure, he has a very unusual looks with his pointy teeth and his white hair, but that is more of a turn on than anything else. He is crazily hot! He has girls over him from right to left so how come he was insecure about himself?

Soul chuckles and nods. "Yeah, you know, the scar isn't that lovely looking exactly and my eyes and hair are very rare. Some people look at me like I'm a freak."

"But you aren't." I say and I rest my head on his shoulder. "You are a very unique person with unique facial features. You are so gifted and you know you are such an amazing person, sure, you do have your flaws but that is just a part of you."

"You know," Soul plants a gentle kiss on my head, "you always seem to cheer me up. With just a few words, you manage to make my day better."

I smile and gently plant a kiss on his neck in return. "I'm happy I c―" My stomach just has to ruin the moment by growling loudly. My cheeks heat up to an unbearable degree and suddenly I don't need Soul or the blanket to keep me warm; my cheeks are like heaters.

Soul chuckles warming while he pulls away from me. "You are lucky I did prepare for this." He grabs the plastic bag beside us and starts pulling out various types of picnic foods. He bought sandwiches, bottles of soda, whipped cream, melted chocolate and strawberries. That is a romantic thing to bring with you. I can just imagine Soul feeding me strawberries while I lay my head on his lap, it is a very nice picture.

"If I remember right, your favorite sandwich is chicken, right?" He hands me the sandwich and I accept it happily.

"You actually remember it? I'm impressed." I start to unwrap the sandwich and it looks delicious, exactly what my hungry belly needs.

"You know I like to know everything about you." Soul grabs his own sandwich and he moves closer to me again. Our arms are glued to each other's and I find myself more comfortable being in my underwear around him. "I'm still far from knowing everything about you, but I'm sure I know more about you than anyone do about you." Soul takes a large bite of his sandwich and I can only watch as his razor-sharp teeth rip the sandwich and chews it. His teeth are something very special indeed.

The sandwich tastes great, the fresh bread along with the crunchy salad. It stills the hunger of my stomach, but not for long and Soul is more than ready to go to the dessert.

"Do you prefer whipped cream or chocolate?" Soul holds up the two bottles and I immediately dive for the brown bottle.

"Chocolate. I will take it any day over whipped cream." I teasingly point my tongue out while I hold the bottle close to me.

"Chocolate it is then." Soul says and pulls out an empty cup. I then squeeze out the chocolate from the tube and Soul grabs a strawberry, dipping it in the chocolate. The strawberry disappears in his mouth and he makes satisfied noises. "It is good, but real melted chocolate would beat this every time."

"I agree." I say after I take a strawberry and tastes with the chocolate. Unexpectedly, Soul pokes the tip of the strawberry on my cheek, leaving behind a large chocolate circle.

"Soul!" I yell and I touch my cheek, the chocolate sticking to my fingers. "Thank, now I will need to go back to the lake in order to get it off."

"You don't think I would be that cruel toward you, did you?" Soul tilts his head while he slowly eats the strawberry, very sensually. Oh, he is on to something. "I could just get it off of you instead." His tongue darts out to my cheek and he slowly and very sexily licks the chocolate away from my cheek. His pace is slow as he licks small circles.

"Soul." I say, wanting to pull him closer to me, but at the same time wanting to stop this. Eating chocolate off each other seems like a thing I'm not exactly ready for. I mean, it could lead to something more, and that is the last I want to happen at the moment. Even though having sex with Soul would be utterly mind-blowing, I'm not ready for it.

"I know what you are thinking." Soul's hand gently cups my waist and pulls me closer to him. "I'm not going to do anything you don't want." His tongue disappears and his lips gently kiss my cheek, jaw and neck. "You are just so irresistible. You are unbelievable hot and you are sexy as fuck. I just want to be close to you, but not that close."

"Thank you." I whisper and his lips are dangerously close to mine. "For understanding." Our lips collide for what feels like the thousands of times. The texture of his lips to the taste of chocolate, it is all so intoxicating. He is going to kill me one day. I just want to spend the rest of my life right here in this moment, underneath the blazing sun, along with Soul where the word Kishin and Meister has no meaning.

Our lips part and I rest my head against his warm chest. "Soul, do you believe we can live a peaceful life without the Kishins?"

"Of course I do." Soul's arms secure me against his chest. Oh I don't ever want to ever pull away. "I couldn't fight the Kishins if I didn't believe it. It might sound kind of controlling, but I need a goal to everything. I wouldn't be able to do anything without a goal or a purpose."

"So what is your ultimate goal?"

"That is an easy one." Soul gently rubs my back. "A world of no Kishins. A world where I never have to face the moon and always stand beside the one I love. To live a normal life and forget everything about Kishins and the horrifying images."

"That sounds kind of deep."

"Kind of is." Soul smirks against my head while he caresses my hair. "So what would be the perfect place for you?"

"Kind of this moment right now." My cheeks heat up. I inhale Soul's scent, his spicy cologne still lingering on his skin. "No Kishins, no worries at all. Everything is just at peace."

Soul chuckles. "And here I thought you would say the library."

I pout and pull away from Soul. "The library is a good place too."

Soul chuckle turns into a laugh, he has to support himself on his elbows, making his abs look absolutely delicious. "Just a bookworm like you would think something like t―" Soul's voice is cut off when his cellphone starts ringing.

"Didn't that get wet when we were swimming?" I ask in sadness and confusion.

"No. It's waterproof." Soul sigh as he picks it up from the plastic bag he had put it inside. "It's Kilik. We better get going." Soul answers while he gets up from the blanket.

This ruined the moment and the day for sure. Everything was just great and lovely and Kilik has to go and ruin everything with stupid Kishin stuff. It is not fair, can't we just have one day off and do exactly what we pleases like two ordinary teens? Throwing in the towel and leaving the Meister life is a very tempting option at the moment, although, I know Soul wouldn't leave it. He would rather die than abandon innocent people who can't even see Kishins. Soul would always put those people and his duties before anything else, as much as it hurt to say and know it, he will put Meister duty and his gang before me.

Soul ends the call with Kilik. "We got to get back to the barn immediately. Something big is going on." I have never seen Soul get dressed so quickly, or gotten dressed for that matter. Soul threw on his still moist pants and shirt, throwing his jacket into the plastic bag. I was so much slower than Soul. When he was fully dressed and ready to go, I was tying my shoes with only my shirt still on.

"We got to hurry! Just to drive there will at least take fifteen minutes." Soul complains while he impatiently walks back and forth.

"I'm doing the best as I can." As soon as I get my skirt on, Soul has switched into his spiritual form.

"We are going to run. It is faster and we can take a shortcut there." He runs and I have a hard time keeping up with his pace. I considered myself fast compared to Hiro, but compared to Soul, I'm very slow. Soul is fast, strong, intelligent and has a ton of experience fighting Kishins, now I know why he is the one leading the gang.

Soul didn't really care if he left me behind. I could barely see him at one point so I had to rely on my instinct and run toward the direction I last saw him. At some times, I could catch a glimpse of his white hair, but it was still very hard to keep up with him.

When I arrive at the barn, Kilik and Black*Star look like they are ready to fight and Soul doesn't look much better. His eyes are burning and his fists are clench, I could tell he has to restrain himself and the others from not leaping and beating― Hiro― to a bloody pulp.

"Just fucking leave!" Black*Star hollers loudly while Tsubaki tries to keep him from leaping into a fight. "You left the group! You are no longer one of us!"

"Yeah! Why don't you do everybody a favor and fuck off! No one wants your shit around here!" Kilik glares daggers at Hiro.

"What are you doing here?" I ask and walk up to his side, attracting the eyes of the others in the gang.

"I want to get back in the g―"

"Like hell you aren't!"

"Black*Star!" Tsubaki yells.

"Everyone just calm the fuck down!" Soul yells, he obviously implies on himself as well. He breathes roughly and he looks like he is going to jump at Hiro and tear him apart in a savage matter. "Why the fuck should I let you back in when you left? You know you would be more of a burden than a teammate."

"Soul!" I yell, standing close to Hiro. "That isn't nice. If you were in your right mind, you would accept him into the group."

Soul snorts. "In my right mind? Are you kidding me? You know what he did, he walked out of the g―"

"It was because you bullied him!" I yell back, stepping in front of Hiro. Everyone is attacking him verbally and he is on his own, he needs my help. He has helped me before, now it is my turn to return the favor. "He couldn't stay because you hated him and everyone was against him! He just did what was the best for you and for Black*Star! If he didn't say anything, he and Black*Star could have both been dead today because of you!"

A large wave of hurt washes over his facial features before it quickly replaces with anger. If I had blinked, I would have for sure missed the hurt in his eyes and the twitch of his lip. "I didn't bully h―"

"Don't lie Soul! I have seen how cold you are toward him. You have already lost plenty of members in your gang, if I were you, I would cling onto the person that offers himself to the gang. He wants to help us, why won't you accept it?"

Soul stays quiet. His lips are almost nonexistent since his face is so tense and his eyes fill with the battle he fights mentally. His hands keep clenching and unclenching, when suddenly, he turns his back toward me and Hiro. "You are in. Hiro, you come with me. Tsubaki, take Maka home." Soul then starts to walk away.

"Thanks Maka." Hiro steps in front of me.

"You're welcome." He then walks away and Tsubaki joins me.

"What was that about? I know you and Hiro are close, but I didn't think you guys were _that_ close."

I smile and gently shake my head. "We aren't, we should leave, there is something I want to tell you."


	21. Chapter XXI

**Eventide **

**Chapter XXI**

The next morning, I couldn't avoid school and the pile of unfinished homework I had. Returning to school was weird and all the stares I had gotten when I arrived with Soul, it was priceless. Their jaws hung wide open and their eyes were wide, we had been together before and I bet they hadn't expected us to get together again.

"How are you doing, with the whole Hiro thing?"

Yesterday when Soul had returned home, he was very tense and he had lashed out on me, accusing me of betraying him by taking Hiro's side. He claimed that Hiro is his archenemy, but we both know that isn't the case since Hiro doesn't even rival him at all.

"I still don't like that dickhead." Soul curses, squeezing my hand. "But I know you are right and we need his help." We walk inside of the school and toward my locker.

It took some time managing Soul and with the help of Wes, I got him to sit down on the couch and have a civilized conversation instead of screaming at each other. Two things got clear in that conversation, Soul was very jealous of Hiro since I had stood up for him instead of sticking to Soul's side, second, he was the jealous type of guy. That night, Soul and I had slept peacefully in the same bed, holding each other lovingly.

I smile and squeeze his hand back. "I'm proud of you." I go up on my toes and kiss his cheek caringly. "He can help us and I'm confident that you two will be friends again. Nothing is going on between Hiro and I. I don't think of him in that way, you are the only guy."

"You better, or Hiro will get it." Soul's hand escapes mine and it snakes around my waist. "You are mine and I'm not going to let you get away." Soul lips descend on mine as soon as we arrive by my locker. The kiss is very plain and simple, we wouldn't want to do anything lusty when we are surrounded by gossiping students and the last thing we need is them twisting the moment into something untrue and exaggerated.

Soul pulls away and rests his head on mine. "I will see you at physical ed."

"Yeah, see you." I watch Soul walk away with his back hunch and his hands stuffed in his pockets after leaving my hand.

After I got my books from my locker, I walk to my classroom and Tsubaki sits at her usual seat beside my empty chair. "Maka!" She smiles wide. "How are you feeling?"

"A lot of mixed feelings."

Instead of driving directly home to Soul and Wes's apartment, Tsubaki and I went and got some ice-cream to have a girl talk. I told her everything that had happened in the past few days, about Soul and Kim's relationship which she had no clue about, the kiss Hiro and I had shared and with the day at the meadow. When I told her about Soul and I getting back together, she was ready to throw a party. She wanted to literally know _everything_ that happened at the meadow and she was content when I told her about the strawberry part since she said he had never been into the whole romance part in his past relationships.

I know I shouldn't be comparing his past relationships to ours, but I can't help it. I guess I'm still feeling a bit insecure about us and I really want to have a healthy relationship with him since I really do like him.

"Good or bad feelings?" Tsubaki asks concern as I take my seat beside her.

"Good and bad I guess. I'm happy things are going so well between Soul and I, but I am a bit concern about Soul and Hiro. They used to be so close and I can't help it but wanting them to be friends again. I mean, yesterday Soul was livid when he came home and he was all over the place." I sigh and run my hand through my bangs. "I just― Hiro is my best friend and I want them to get along."

"Have you told Soul about the kiss?"

I shake my head. "No, and I'm not planning to. We weren't together so it wasn't like I was cheating on him. It was barely even a kiss and immediately afterward we agreed it was weird and we were going to stay friends."

"Did you hold more than friend feelings for Hiro when you kissed him?"

"Of course not! I just felt that he was a cool guy and he was nice and caring. I was way too down with Soul I couldn't look at anyone in that light to really having a relationship with any guy."

Tsubaki smiles and taps her pencil on the desk. "I just wanted to make sure, I mean if you did feel something, your relationship with Soul would get really complicated."

Complicated? No shit. Soul would murder Hiro slowly, ripping his flesh from his bones and then eat it. He would kill Hiro in pure jealousy to then clutch onto me like crazy. With Soul's new jealousy, he would throw a fit if he even knew Hiro and I kissed!

"Yeah, but you have to promise to never tell Soul about the kiss. If he knows, then he won't ever want to be around Hiro and they won't be able to fix their friendship."

Tsubaki nods. "Consider my lips sealed."

The day went way too slow for my liking, the teacher nagged at me for not completing my homework and just because of my "stomach flu" didn't mean I could skip on all the homework. So they gave me even more homework in order to make up for the homework I didn't finish. School just turned rougher than it had ever been and I knew my grade would definitely take a huge toll.

When I met Hiro, he was surprisingly still intact and no bruises or cuts on him. Soul had only given him a piece of his mind and given him the bad boy attitude I had seen him plenty of times give obnoxious students and teachers. Soul had swung his fist into the wall next to Hiro's head, and that is the only physical thing that happened.

The lunch had been very awkward since Soul had glared at Hiro the whole time and held me very close to him. Soul couldn't even keep a proper conversation with me or anyone else in the gang since he just sat there and glared at Hiro. His eyes had said enough, he was very much threatened by Hiro's presence at the table and at one point, I thought he would break my hip since his hand gripped it so tightly.

So, when physical ed finally came, we had a lot to talk about.

"You were acting weird at lunch today." I say as I jog beside him.

"No. I wasn't." He doesn't even looking at me. His eyebrow did narrow and his lips tighten. He is obviously bothered by the subject.

"Yes you did. You can't deny it." I struggle with finding his hand while I keep up his pace. I give his hand a squeeze. "You left a bruise on my hip and you were glaring at Hiro. You were obviously bothered by something."

"I'm fine." Soul says, pulling his hand from mine. "It's just, it's stressful."

Stressful? That isn't the word I would use. "Do you want to talk about it?"

"Yeah. I do." Soul confesses and he stops running, looking down at the ground. "It's just, the Hiro situation along with the lack of people. More Kishins are coming to the area and more people are dying and on top of that, this special Kishin which can come at any time. It is stressing me out since it feels like, wherever I go, I will miss something and someone will end up either hurt or killed."

"Soul." I pull him into a hug, feeling his shirt against my cheek. He finally came to his senses and wore one, although, I kind of want him without one now. I'm a hypocrite. "You can't protect everyone. It is physically impossible. People will end up hurt and die, just think about the good things, you are saving thousands of lives by eliminating Kishins. You should focus on that instead of blaming you for their deaths."

"You have a point, but it is just so hard to deal with it." Soul wraps his arms around my waist and gently hugs me back.

"No, you just focus on the people you do save. You should be proud over yourself for saving their lives."

Soul shakes his head again against my head. "It isn't only that, it just, it feels like when I put my duties as a Meister before you, it feels like I hurt you and it makes me sad. I don't like to be separated from you."

I grip his shirt at the back. "You know you don't have to ever be apart from me, you could guard me all the time. I would feel safer if you were the one with me instead of Black*Star or Kilik or whoever you would push me onto."

"If it just was that easy." Soul sighs heavily. "They need me on the field."

"Then let me come and fight with you. Then all of you could protect me and we would be f―"

Suddenly the sky darkens and the sun goes behind two large clouds. When were there clouds in the sky? The moon comes out and mocks us with its presence and I swear I can see two large red eyes glare at us from the end of the track.

"Maka." Soul says and his grip on me loosens, slowly backs us away. "There are a lot of people here. You see that all of the students get inside safely while I keep the Kishin occupied."

I shake my head violently and clutch his shirt. "No, I can't just leave you here―"

"Yes you can. I will be fine. You need to get the other students to somewhere safe." Soul gently starts pushing me behind him. "I need to protect you, I can't let it hurt you."

We both know that the Kishin is after me and if I stay among the students, it is more of a chance that it will hurt them. I need to get away from the school. That is our best bet.

I rest my head on Soul's back when I hear the Kishin drags its claws on the track. "I like you a lot, Soul. I can't have you hurt because of me." Everything becomes a blur, I switch into my spiritual form and go right through Soul. I hear him scream my name as I run toward the Kishin as fast as I can. I jump high over the Kishin and I land on the other side of it, taking off quickly away from the school. It roars loudly and I hear it run after me.

Without any weapon, fighting it is out of the question. All I can do for now is prove as a distraction so they can get all the students away and cross my fingers that the Kishin won't get me.

At least I know I won't be killed, it has proven that it wants to take me away, but where?

That theory I will have to get to later, right now, I need to focus on running.

I throw myself into the forest that surrounds the school and the Kishin isn't far behind me. I force myself to run faster than I already do. The trees flash pass me and I feel the chill running through me as the branches and the trunks go right through me. The Kishin roars loudly and I feel its large mighty body slam into mine. We both collide with the ground and my head hit the ground hard.

The Kishin quickly retrieves its claws into its palms and grips me tightly in its hands.

"Get away from me!" I yell loudly as I struggle to get away. "Soul!" I scream as loud as I can. "Help me!" It is quite pathetic to yell for help like this when I threw myself into this situation and I can't event keep myself out of harm's way.

My eyes lock with the Kishin's eyes. They radiant red and the Kishin only holds me in its large metal hands, not bothering with my scrabbling. It keeps looking at me with its large eyes and for a second, its eyes shimmer for just a micro-second, turning into a green shade.

I inhale loudly when the Kishin roars loudly and it smacks me down to the ground and everything turns dark.

Damn Scrap Metal, I'm pathetic.


	22. Chapter XXII

**Eventide**

**Chapter XXII**

My eyes slowly flutters open and I awake by the worst way possible, by vomiting.

"Holy shit!" Black*Star curses loudly and I feel two large hands hold back my hair as I keep emptying my stomach.

"Tsubaki, can you get a bucket?" Soul asks and I bet it is his hands since I feel the person's thumbs gently trace circles on my temples.

"Right."

With the sound of everybody making disgusted noises and their movements, it makes my head spin out of control and I find myself hurling again, this time, I find a bucket beside the bed I puke into.

"The concussion must be worse than I thought it would be." It is Stein's voice. "She must be taking it easy for the rest of the day. Tsubaki will treat her head every hour. By the next morning she should be a lot better."

My head twirls again and I barf into the bucket. "Just please shut up!" I yell and immediately a new round of vomit joins the bucket. "Just please, there are too many noises." Soul's hands wanders from my temples to cover my ears. The sound isn't completely cut off, but it does relieve the headache and the dizziness.

I can barely make out the sound of the Meisters leaving the room and the sound of voices, although, I can't hear exactly what they are saying. I keep my eyes closed in order to shut out the spinning world all around me and I try to concentrate myself on Soul's hands, the one touch in order to, hopefully, get the spinning to wear off, although, I'm not getting any better. I still feel like I want to puke and I bet I will puke as soon as Soul uncovers my ears.

I was right.

When Soul uncovers my ears and gently says my name, I hurl into the bucket. As the great boyfriend Soul is, he holds back my hair and gently kisses my head, resting his head on mine in order to show sympathy and concern.

"Do you think you can manage with my voice?" He gently whispers.

I shake my head and I hurl again, my legs uncomfortably squirming since I start puking up bile. His hands gently covers my ears again as I rest my head on the edge of the bed, not having the energy to lift my head up.

I stay like that for a few minutes until Soul takes his hands away and a pair of more feminine hands puts on my temples. A soothing heat then envelops my head and I feel the pain in my head lighten and the world stop spinning out of control. The urge to puke reduces and I find myself feeling better, but far from being back to normal.

"Do you think you can listen to my voice now?" Soul gently grabs my hand and caresses it with my thumb.

The hands on my head slowly disappear and I nod tiredly. "As long as I don't have to open my eyes." I say and Soul's masculine hand gently cups my cheek. "If that will make you more comfortable and make you feel better, then keep them closed." Soul's grip on my hand tightens. "Do you have any idea how much you scared me?"

"A lot?"

Soul sighs annoyingly as he gently presses my hand to his mouth. "I thought I was too late. The Kishin had already started to take off with you when I arrived. It almost got away when Hiro came along. Hiro got stabbed pretty badly, he was the only one injured."

My heart skips a beat. "Is he okay?"

Soul's lips feel tense against my hand. "Yeah, Stein had to practically sew him back together since his upper body was almost detached from his legs. Stein is most likely checking up on him now. As weird as it is, he is doing better than you. With Stein's help, he will be ready for tonight's battle."

"Are you crazy?" My intention was to sound pissed off and surprised, but it sounded more like a tired moan. "You can't send him out after almost getting ripped to pieces."

"Maka, it was yesterday it happened. You have been out for a day."

A whole day? Wow, that is something.

"What happened to Scrap Metal?"

"Wait, you have _named_ the Kishin_ Scrap Metal?_" Soul says baffled.

"Yeah, it is easier to imply on it if it has a name. It isn't like he is my pet and I give it a lovey dovey name. I thought the name was fitting since it is a large piece of metal, you know."

Soul chuckles and he kisses my knuckles gently. "I think you are abnormal in a good way. I guess Scrap Metal is a good name for it since we will dump the rusty piece of scrap in the dumpster." Soul snickers sinisterly.

Slowly I open my eyes and I see the shape Soul is in. I want to gasp and curse at Soul for not taking care of himself because that is exactly what he hasn't done. His hair is a greasy mess and he has two large purple bags underneath his eyes. He smells of sweat and his clothes are ripped and dirty. He is in need of a shower and a new change of clothes. Even though he smells so bad, I still find myself very attractive to him.

"You look terrible."

Soul chuckles while he gently caresses my hand. "Speak of yourself, you should look at yourself."

I blush and close my eyes again since the world is still spinning, but much less than it did. "You should go and take a shower and get some sleep. I will still be here when you wake up."

"I'm fine." Soul says. "I would just be worried about you if I weren't with you. I want to make sure you are fully healed before I leave for tonight's battle."

"Soul." I gently squeeze his hand. "You won't even be able to stand if you don't get some sleep." I make more room for him on the bed and I tug his hand toward me. "There is room for you too and I feel like I want to cuddle."

"That is an invitation I can't reject." Can I hear Soul smirking? "Every reason to touch the person you love can never be a bad idea." The springs of the bed squeak as Soul takes a seat on the bed before he lies down beside me. His arms wrap around me and he hugs me gently, making sure not to hurt my head. His lips gently kiss my forehead, snuggling his head over my head.

These are the moments I will treasure the most.

Soul and I must have fallen asleep like this, he probably fell asleep as soon as he had set his head on the pillow, but when we both awake, we were startled awake.

"Soul!" Tsubaki slam the door open and I almost jump out of my skin. "You have to get out here immediately!"

"What?" Soul says tiredly, I bet he is rubbing his eyes.

"We got problem! It is Stein." Tsubaki sounds very stressed and uneasy. What is going on?

Soul curses as he sits up on the bed. "I will be out in a minute." He says and his hand finds mine. Tsubaki must have left the room since the door closes. "I will have to go. I will be back when this mess is over." The next thing I know his lips are on mine, my still unclean mouth, but he doesn't care. He kisses me long before he pulls away and rests his forehead on mine. "I love you, I will be back as soon as I can."

His hand disappears from mine and I feel a slight panic hit me. I don't want him to go, I don't want to be alone. I want _him_ to keep me company.

"Soul!"

He must have picked up on the panic in my voice since he stops dead in his tracks and grabs my hand again. "Yeah?"

A smile spreads on my face. I didn't think he would actually stay. "I…I―" I gulp loudly. Why is my throat running so dry? I should be able to say it. "I… I just… want to tell you…" Pull yourself together! Just get the words out already! I must be worrying Soul since my hand is shaking madly. "I just want to say that I really like you!"

In the end, I couldn't say it.

"Take your time." Soul says gently. He must know what I was trying to say. "Don't force it out. I'm still going to be here waiting for you." Soul's hand slips from mine and I hear the door open and closing.

He is gone.

There was not much I could do. I was alone and with my head still spinning, the only thing I could do was sleep some more. Even though I had already slept for who knows for how long, I'm still very much tired. It must be because of the concussion.

Sleep wash over me and as before, my sleep was interrupted. My heart flutters happy and when I open my eyes disappointment washes over my body. It isn't Soul who is standing at the door, it is Hiro.

"Judging by the look of your face, I'm not the one you wanted to visit you." Hiro says as he gently limp toward the chair beside me.

"How are you holding up? I heard you were badly hurt." I ignore his statement.

Hiro holds his stomach. That must be where the Scrap Metal's claws dug into him.

Hiro chuckles as he gently rubs his stomach. "I have felt better." Hiro then sighs loudly. "There is something I have to tell you."

Oh, that voice doesn't sound good. Whatever he has to say, it won't be good news.

"What is it?"

"It is about Soul." Hiro says, running his hand through his hair. "Stein came and threw a fit. You know his daughter Kim, she is a Meister as well and in some strange way, she has found out about Kishins existence."

My eyes widen. This can't be good. What will happen to the agreement Stein and Soul came up with? Will he leave? If he does, then we are screwed!

"Take a deep breath. I don't want you to pass out on me." Hiro says and I inhale deeply. I hadn't even realized I was holding my breath. "Stein won't walk out on us. After Stein calmed down and was able to hold a civilized conversation, they managed to come to an agreement, but I don't think you will like it." Hiro sighs and shakes his head. "I thought he wouldn't agree to it since it would jeopardize your relationship, but he did it."

"Just get to the point!" I yell.

Hiro nods. "Alright. Kim wants to join the gang and Stein still wants to protect her, but he can't convince Kim to forget about the whole thing. So, the deal is that since Soul is the strongest Meister with the most skills, he will be her bodyguard. I'm not talking about just during the day or something, he will be glued to her twenty-four seven."

I lost my heart. I really did. It jumped straight out of my chest and ran away. Tears burn my eyes and soon the flow down my cheeks. "Why would he accept such a deal? He just completely destroyed our relationship."

"You know why." Hiro says and leans toward me, wiping away my tears. "His duty will always lie to the gang and their safety."

I keep crying and I lean into Hiro's hand. "I still don't get it. We just managed to get our relationship working and now he goes and does something like this? He said he loved me…"

Hiro gets up from his seat and takes a seat on my bed instead. He wraps his arms around me and gently rocks me. "You know he will still love you, it will just be harder for you to be together since he will have another girl glued to him."

"One that is his first love and his first girlfriend and the girl he lost his virginity to." I cry into his chest. "How am I supposed to compete with that?"

"There isn't a competition." Hiro says as he gently caresses my hand. "You already won. He is your boyfriend."

There is a knock on the door and my spirit lifts just to be crushed in disappointment again. Tsubaki walks inside of the room and closes it again. "I guess you know about the deal." Tsubaki says as she walks up to my bed. "I'm sorry Maka, I tried to talk them into coming up with a different deal, but they were already set on that agreement."

What am I supposed to say? I'm going to be fine? I'm not hurt at all and we will just keep going as if this deal doesn't affect us at all. With this deal, our relationship is doomed to fail. Soul and I will be over and most likely, he will get together with Kim. She knows now about the Kishin world and they are going to be together from now on, they will definitely get together again.

"It's time for a healing session." Tsubaki says and she gently puts her hands on my head and the familiar warmth soothes my head.

Even though she is a medic Meister, she can't heal the pain my heart feels and the agony in my soul.


	23. Chapter XXIII

**Eventide **

**Chapter XXIII**

Soul never did return to my bed. I was left inside of that room and when night finally fell, Chrona was the one who was supposed to guard me. He couldn't deal with me crying and he said it all the time until I cried myself to sleep. That night I had nightmares about Soul and Kim, seeing them kiss and saying lovingly things to one another. All I could do was watch them since an invisible wall kept me away from them. I screamed at them, cried rivers as I watched them kiss each other hungrily and lovingly. Soul's hands travelled to her back and ripped her shirt apart.

I couldn't watch it. I'm grieving as if we were already over when we aren't. I know I have to talk to Soul about this. He is practically stuck with his ex and he can't do anything about it. I have to find a solution since I don't want things to end between us like this. It just can't.

That morning when I woke up, Chrona was gone. That must mean they are all back.

I feel much better than I did yesterday. The urge to puke is completely gone and my vision is stable. New clothes lay on the chair and I take them and get dressed. It is obvious Soul hasn't brought them since it is a pair of sweatpants and a large t-shirt. He would definitely have chosen a skirt and a slim fit tank top. Wes is definitely the person who got me these clothes.

Walking out of the room, it feels like the world stopped. Even though the sound of the door closing behind me wasn't loud, it sure attracted everybody's attention. All the Meister's eyes are on me and at the center of the room inside of the boxing ring, are the infamous Kim and Soul Eater.

Kim is so much prettier in real life than she was on the photo. Her hair is short and she has the most beautiful blue eyes I have ever seen and mixed with her strawberry pink hair, it is the perfect combination to achieve adorableness. Soul obviously has gotten her clothes. She is just wearing a white sports bra and a pair of black booty shorts. Even though I'm standing from the other side of the room, I can see her nipples through the bra and the pair of pink thongs that goes up from her shorts. Her curves are utterly feminine and filled, not like my flat and bony body. She is perfect. I now know why Soul liked, or maybe _likes_ her so much.

Then my eyes lock at Soul. Oh Soul. Who isn't wearing a shirt at all.

Are they trying to tease each other with their bodies to then hook up?

I don't hear what Soul says to Kim, but he does jump out of the boxing ring and heads toward me. Kim shouts after Soul, but he ignores her.

"I'm sorry." Soul says and his arms wrap around me. "I'm so sorry Maka."

I bite my lower lip. I'm so sick and tired of crying because of him. "I don't think you are sorry. If you cared about us, you wouldn't have made that deal."

Soul stiffens and his arms around me tighten. I refuse to hug him, not now when my heart is shattered like this. "I am. You know we need Stein in our group, without him, we are all doomed and we will all die faster than flies. I had to do this for the group."

I clench my fist and I draw blood from my lower lip. I need to be strong. I can't cry now. "No, you didn't have to do anything. You could just have come up with a different solution. No one held a gun to your head and forced you to make the deal. I bet you were more than happy to accept the deal so you could be around someone who puts out."

"What! No!" Soul roughly grabs my chin and forces me to look into his eyes. He is mad. I can see it in his eyes. "I love you and I would rather be with you than her. Why can't you see that?"

I push him away from me and tears burn in my eyes. "Oh please! Her outfit? The lack of a shirt on you? I bet you are more than happy to jump into bed with her. You always were the guy who broke down girls just to sleep with them. Don't lie! You told me yourself you were with girls for sex and to forget everything about her."

"That is not t―"

"Soul!" Kim shrieks in a high pitched voice as she storms up to me. Wow, her chest is practically transparent through that thing Soul calls a sport bra. I bet he got it at Death's secrets. "You said you would teach me how to fight." She grabs his arm and clutches onto him, her chest smothering his arm. Oh she isn't over him alright. "I want you to teach me that trick you did yesterday on that Kishin." Kim must feel threaten since she glares at me, a stare full of hatred and jealousy.

"I said five minute break, Kim. Go and drink some water." Soul says annoyingly.

"You know what the deal says." Kim smirks wide as she looks at me. "You have to be close to me all time and that includes sharing a room with me."

Kim managed to rip my heart into pieces. Reluctantly I look away from Soul and I feel my tears going to burst at any given moment. "Just go. I'm going to train with Hiro. Do whatever. I don't care what you do." I turn on my heel and starts walking toward Hiro who is lifting weights in the gym.

"Don't walk away from me Maka!" Soul hollers but I don't care. I keep walking and tears pour down my face. As soon as I reach Hiro, he sees my tears and immediately put the bar with the weights on away.

"I guess you met Kim for the first time." Hiro says and I wipe them away, keeping my back toward Soul so he can't see my tears.

"It's just… It's hard."

"Yeah, if I were in your place, I would knock the shit out of her and Soul. To even think he allowed her to be dressed like that is fucked up. She obviously is trying to get him back." Hiro says as he rubs his head.

Wait. So Soul didn't give her those clothes? So they are Kim's clothing? Oh well, it doesn't make a difference, Soul would still have put her in similar clothes, just as he gave me those poor excuse for clothing.

"You know, we can leave if you want to. You don't have to train when they are here. I understand if you want to go home." Hiro says and I shake my head.

"No, I need to be here. I need to realize that things between Soul and I are in the ditch. There is no way we can repair this." I'm such a masochist. I should go away but instead I'm still here, suffering every second of being in same barn with Soul and Kim.

Hiro stands up from the bench and holds out his arms. "You're in need of a hug."

I am, I so need one. I slam into his body and hug him tightly. "It's just so hard. How am I supposed to deal with this? Everything was so great and now this? It is so sudden."

His arms tightly wrap around me, his hand gently rubs my back. "Unfortunately, we might not be ready for everything that life throws toward us, but we need to accept things and move on."

I sniffle and I feel myself trembling in his arms. "I changed my minds." I pull away from Hiro. "I just want to go home."

"I will drive you home then." Hiro pulls away and grabs his shirt, putting it on. Hiro fish up a keychain with a car key along with a house key on it. As we leave, I feel Soul's glare on us as we leave the barn. Kim must be really happy that I left because now he and she will have all the time to go at each other and hump the fuck out of each other.

Hiro walks up to his car that is parked just outside of the barn. I'm about to walk toward it when a flash catch my gaze. It comes from within the forest. What is it? Is something trying to call me from within the woods?

"What is it?" Hiro says as he opens the door to the car.

I look toward Hiro and the forest. Something is inside of the forest, calling me there. "I… I…" What should I even say? "Can you just give me a minute?" I blush violently, I can't even believe I'm going to say this. "I kind of need to go to the bathroom and I don't want to go inside."

"Can't you hold it?"

I shake my head. "It will just take a minute!" I say and without his approval, I run into the forest where I saw the flash. The branches of the bushes claw at my sweatpants and rip at my pigtails. Deeper and deeper inside of the forest I go and I can no longer see the barn through the trees.

"Hello sweetheart." I almost jump out of my skin and turn around.

"Mama." I say as she smiles gently toward me. "I have tried to get a hold of you since that night, where were you? Why didn't you come and visit me?"

"I tried my dear." She grabs my hand sand holds them tightly. "I haven't been able to get close to you because of that boy Soul Eater. You have to listen to me, Maka, he is bad news. You should get away from him."

"What exactly do you mean? I don't get it." I say and her eyes shimmer. Her eyes are so cold. They usually are so warm.

"What I mean is he is a bad boy. He has hurt you before and he will hurt you again. He will cheat on you with Kim. You need to get far away from him and his gang. You will only end up broken and hurt. You can manage on your own without them." She squeezes my hands. Why are her hands so cold?

"I know Soul has a bad history―"

"Listen to me." My mother sneers at my. "Evil is coming. The Star*Clan is returning and you need to get away from them. They are going to confront his gang and if you are still there, you will die. Cut the strings with them and then return home. Not to their apartment, to your real home with your papa and me. We will leave this city and I promise I will keep you safe."

"If that is true, then I have to warn the others―"

"No!" Kami hollers and she tightens her grip on my hands. "You can't tell anyone. Leave when you still have the chance. Don't you trust me? Don't you trust your own mama?" Her eyes turn to something hurt and sincere. Her lower lip puckers out. Oh man, who is the kid here, her or me?

"Okay, I won't tell them, but will they hurt them?"

My mother lights up. "They won't. They will just pass and see if you are there and if you aren't they will leave them peacefully."

Good, at least they will be safe. That is what matters the most to me. As much as I want to hate Soul and want to punch him, I can't hate him since I still like him very much.

My mother leans toward me and gently kisses my forehead, like she always used to do when I was younger. I close my eyes and enjoys the nostalgic feeling of her lips on my forehead. "You have grown up to such a beautiful young woman. I promise you we will all have our happy ever after ending. Come home as soon as you can."

When I open my eyes, she is gone.

Hiro doesn't question me when I get back from the woods. I guess it is awkward to ask why it took so long peeing in the woods. Not exactly a subject you want to talk about. I arrive back at the apartment and Wes isn't home. He must have gone to the barn or someplace else.

Because of Scrap Metal, Hiro stayed at my place. I told him I needed a moment alone and that is exactly what I got. I locked myself inside of Soul's former bedroom since now he lives with Kim and Stein. I fished up my phone from my pocket and found Soul's cellphone number in my contacts.

I didn't expect Soul to pick up, but he did.

"Are you ready to actually talk to me instead of running away?" Soul says through the speakers.

"Yeah." But it won't end as you want it.

"Is that _Maka?_" I hear Kim spit out in disgust.

Soul sighs into the phone. "Yeah, just shut up and let me talk in peace. She is still my girlfriend." Soul says to Kim.

Not for long.

"I will make it quick." I say, clenching my fists. "I'm breaking up with you and I'm leaving the gang."

"What?!" Soul yells into the phone. He sighs loudly and I can almost see him ripping at his hair. "Are you serious? Maka! It is you I love! Just because I'm stuck to her doesn't mean I will grow feelings for her or love you less. I swear I'm working on a solution to this p―"

"I'm not going to stick around for it." I say and tears blur my vision. "She is your first love and you obviously fancied her a lot. With you having to be around her all the time, I know I will lose you and I don't want to stick around to the bitter ending. We both know it will end with me having my heart broken and you hooking up with Kim."

"Geez Maka." Soul says irritated. "You don't know that! I still love you! Don't break up with me. You know I have to do what is best for the gang, I don't want things to end between us." Wait, is that a sob I'm hearing? "Please, don't leave me." He _is_ sobbing. He _is_ crying! "I know I fuck up a lot of times and I know I treat you like shit, but in the end it will always be you and me. Please, you got to have faith in me."

"I'm sorry but we are over. You have to do what is best for the gang and now I need to do what is best for me. Please don't call me. Make me happy by not contacting me." Tears roll down my cheeks.

"Maka don't―" I hang up on him and my sobs wrack my body. There is no time for tears. I need to pack my things and leave before he or someone else from the gang decides to go after me.

I cry as I pack my things with intentions of leaving Death City and all the people behind me.


	24. Chapter XXIV

**Eventide**

**Chapter XXIV**

Everything is weird. I lived in this room before I moved in with Soul and Wes, but, this room just feels so cold. It has more decorations and things Soul's room ever had, but this room misses the love I felt inside of his.

My room is exactly the way I left it that day. My father hadn't walked inside in search for alcohol or money. The place was very dusty so I doubt he had even stepped over my threshold.

Yesterday I left through the window. I couldn't let Hiro know about my plans to return home. So instead I put the pillows underneath the blanket and shaped them into a human form. It must have tricked him since I hadn't gotten any crazy texts from him or anything. The one that had been spamming me was Soul. He kept sending me texts like "I love you" and "Please don't leave me" and "I love you, not Kim and I won't ever love her again." My phone was ringing constantly all until the sun started to set. The texts and phone calls stopped, but he send me one last text. "This isn't over. I'm not giving up on us. I love you with all my heart and I'm determined we will be together. I'm not going to let Kim come between us. Don't give up on me. I'm going to find a solution even if that is the last thing I will do."

Everything feels like it is spinning out of control. My father had greeted me with open arms when I returned home and he thought I had been at school the whole day. The house was cleaner than it had ever been and there were no alcohol bottles to be seen. He talked about mother like she had never been gone and everything was just fine between us. It confused me so much since he seemed to have forgotten mother's death and everything or he put up a great act and pushed the memories away. Or, did my father actually go mad?

I don't know, but one thing I do know is this wasn't how I wanted to live my life. I want a certain white haired man with sharp teeth in my life. I don't want to live this normal life.

When morning came, I got dressed in my usual skirt and a black t-shirt. I went downstairs to be greeted by my father inside of the kitchen.

"Good morning buttercup!" He says happily as he fries some bacon and eggs. "Today is a big day."

"What are we going to do?" I say as I awkwardly take a seat by the table.

"We are finally going to move to a new city. Your mother should be back any second now with the new car." He says as he places the bacon and eggs on a plate, bringing it over to the table. "Eat up. It will be a long drive before we are at our new home." He kisses my head and I flinch.

He hadn't kissed my head in years. It was years since I got the opportunity to taste his delicious breakfast and just randomly in one day, I get to eat his breakfast and receive his affection. I don't like this at all even though I had been craving this for years.

The front door clicks open and then closes, following by "I'm home." My mother enters the kitchen and smiles wide. "Hey, are you excited for this new change?" She says and my father kisses her cheek and wraps his arm around her waist. This is creeping me out. She is supposed to be dead and my father is supposed to be drinking till he passes out, not kissing and looking like a happy family. What even happened? Was my mother's passing fake and all these years had been hallucinations? It must be, come one, only someone who reads just as many books as me would imagine my father turning into an alcoholic and my mother being dead.

"Yeah, I am." I say, I must muster some excitement or else my mother and father will be so worried about me.

"Great!" my mother says and kisses my father on the lips. "You two finish up your breakfast. I will get your things from your room and then we will leave." She says and strolls upstairs to my room without a care in the world.

My father returns to the stove and starts to make another round of bacon and eggs for himself. I watch my father cook as I eat his delicious food that doesn't even taste as delicious as it once did. Either it is me who has changed or it was the food that had turned worse.

Another knock on the door sounds.

"Maka, can you be an angel and open the door?" My father says, not taking his eyes off the eggs that are frying in the pan.

"Okay." This is how a real family is like, an ordinary one with no problem of invisible monsters that want to feed on people's souls. A family with ordinary problems and ordinary jobs. Maybe I don't fit into this picture anymore. Not after being a Meister and being my father's caretaker, but had that really happened? The memories of the Kishins and the gang and… Soul. It all seems to fade away. It grows harder to remember them.

_You are only dreaming. It was all just a dream._

Is there really a man out there with pointy teeth? There can't be, I mean, albinos exists, but this one was tanned and had sharp pointy teeth. No human being can have that kind of features naturally.

Soul and the monsters I had created in my mind must have all been a dream. There is no way those things can even exist. A boy with blue hair that always claims to be a god, that can't be real either. He must have had a screw loose or something, but he couldn't have existed since he was with that albino boy.

_No one of them actually existed, it was all a dream._

I get up from my chair and head toward the front door.

It must all have been a dream. Those people don't exist.

The door creaks open and I smile toward the person standing outside of the door. "Hey."

A man with blond hair and eyes bluer than the ocean stands outside of our door. He has a plethora of rings in his ears and he wears army boots. He looks like a tough guy you would want to stay away, but deep down you know Hiro is nice.

Hiro? Why did that name pop up?

"Can I help you?"

"You thought you could fool me with those pillows." The man says, giving me a glare. "Why the heck would you want to return here?"

Why does this guy talk to me like he knows me? What pillows? Why would I try to trick him? I don't even know him.

"Excuse me, but I think you have got the wrong person. I don't know what you are talking about."

_Good girl, now send him away._

"Bullshit, don't play stupid with me. You know who I am. Now come on, Tsubaki wants to run one last check on your head." This guy says and grabs my wrist. "Now come on, Tsubaki is really worried about you and if we aren't there soon Soul will throw a fit and I don't feel like being his personal punching bag."

Soul? Tsubaki? What? I don't understand anything. What is going on? I'm so confused.

_He is a sick man. He doesn't know what he is talking about._

"Let me go!" I grip my wrist from his and massage my sore wrist. "I don't have a clue what you are talking about. If you don't leave my property I'm going to call the police."

The man freezes and he just stares at me with those blue orbs of his. He doesn't make a move toward me or a move to leave me alone. What is his deal? His eyes shimmer and his eyes stay set on me. "Now I see." He mutters and his hand sparks. My eyes widen and I can't believe what I'm seeing, it looks like electricity is coursing over his hand. He reaches for me and I yelp loudly.

"Get away from me!" My bump takes a blow from falling to the floor and I back away from him.

"Maka, calm down, I'm not going to h―"

"Get away from my daughter!" My father roars as he walks toward the man who I think his name is Hiro for some reason. It just pops up in my head.

The man holds his hand up in surrender but the energy stays on his hand. "I'm not here to hurt anyone. I just want to talk to Maka. It will only take a minute."

"Like hell you aren't!" My father sneers loudly and get in front of me. "You have a Taser on you! Leave immediately or else I'm going to call the cops." Taser? Is that a Taser gun he uses? Last time I checked, Tasers weren't like a glove over a hand, it is like a gun.

His eyes go to his right hand where the sparks are before they go back to my father. "You can see this? Are you a Meister as well? Maka, you never said your father was a Meister."

Meister? Why does that word ring bells in my mind? Meister, Meister, Meister, I know I have heard that word somewhere, but where exactly? It must have been a kid's book my parents read to me or something.

"Maka, do you know him?" My father turns toward me.

I shake my head. "No, I haven't seen him before."

"What is going on?" My mother walks down the stairs and as soon as she sets her eyes on the man, something seems to spark between them. My mother's eyebrows narrows and a large frown spread on her face.

The man looks utterly shocked and he takes a step backwards. "You?!" He utters loudly while he points his finger at my mother. "It was you all along?"

"I thought I took care of you, but obviously I must have gone soft on you." My mother says and takes a step toward the guy. "This time, I won't mess up."

The guy quickly fish up a dagger from his boot and with a powerful wipe, it grows into a long sword. Why the heck is he wearing a _sword in his boot?!_ It is a felony to wear concealed weapons!

The sky turns dark like someone sucks the light out of the sky and the moon raises and shines bright in the sky.

I almost scream out in horror when I see my mother smirking wide. Her skin turns to green scales that shine like armor and her eyes turn to a vivid shade of red. I have seen that kind of red before, but I don't remember where. Claws sprouts from her palms and her teeth grow into sharp fangs, I have seen those kinds of fangs on someone before. A large and thick tail grows out from her behind and she roars loudly. Is that really my mother? _She_ turned into that _thing!_

"Little Meister boy, you won't be able to kill me." The monster who also happen to be my mother growls out.

"I won't let you take Maka." The man sneers as he grips the sword in his hands.

"What is going on?!" I exclaim and no one pay me any attention except my father.

"Come here." My father helps me up from the floor and hooks his arm with me. "We will leave your mother to do her business. She obviously has something unfinished with him."

"He has a sword and mama turned into a _monster!_ They will seriously hurt each other! They can't do that!" I holler and now I'm fighting in my father's grip. "We can call the police and have them arrest him! They can't fight each other like this!"

_Relax, there is nothing to fear._

No, this is just wrong!

The guy leaps toward the large metal Lizard, Scrap Metal, he swings his large sword at my mother and she blocks it with her claws.

"No!" I exclaim and elbow my father in the rib. I run up to my mother without a care in the world what could happen to me. "Stop!" I yell and I grab a hold of my mother's palm, even though she is looking like this, she is my mother who I love dearly. She is the only one who has always stood by my side throughout all the years.

"Get out of the way Maka!" The guys scream as his sword is still connected with my mother's claws. "Run! Call Soul! Tell him we need backup!"

Soul. Who is he? I have no clue what the guy is talking about. Am I even supposed to know what he is talking about?

My mother roars loudly and I grow shocked when my mother pushes the man away and instead of going after him, she takes _me._ She grips me hard and I struggle in her hand. "What are you doing?" My ribs are under an unbearable pressure and it feels like they are going to break in any given moment. "You are hurting me!" My vision grows darker for every second that passes since I can barely breathe.

"Let her go!" The guy screams and everything slows down. He leaps toward my mother. She doesn't even bother with his sword, it doesn't even make a dent in her armor scales. She shoves her claws into the guy's stomach. The guy looks surprise as his sword clatter against the floor of the hall. He coughs up blood and my mother's claws twist in his stomach.

"Nighty nighty little Meister." My mother snickers as she pulls out her claws from the guy. "Now you won't be bothering us anymore."

_Go to sleep. This never happened._

My eyes grow heavier and heavier and my body grows limp in her grip. My father joins beside my mother and they walk out of the house. When did it grow dark outside? The sun was out when I woke up this morning.

The house suddenly lit up and the flames reach for the sky. Everything turns dark and I find myself falling asleep in my mother's hand.


	25. Chapter XXV

**Eventide**

**Chapter XXV**

Something is off. Something is _really_ off. I woke up inside of a _cell._ Not like a wine cellar with old shelves full with wine or anything, this is a legit _prison._ The cell is small and offers no privacy since it has bars as walls. In the corner of the cell there is a well where I supposed am going to do my business and a futon lying on the other corner of the cell. Nothing more and nothing less. Why am I even here? We were supposed to go to our new home, not here in some _cell!_

I gasp.

Someone must have hijacked us and taken me captive. Does this mean my mother and father is here? They have to be. I look around the area outside of the cell and there is no one around. My cell that is more of a cage is all alone inside of an unknown room.

I just hope they are alright.

A door creaks open and a tall man walks inside. He has white hair and pointy teeth. His eyes are the most abnormal thing I have ever seen, he has _stars_ in his eyes. Those can't be natural. He must be using contacts or something. And gotten a fill since no one can have pointy teeth. That is just biological impossible, they would have to cross a human being with a shark and that would end badly. If people have to move around in order to breathe we would be in trouble.

"So this is Maka Albarn." The man says with a dark voice. "I had expected more of a Girgori that has managed to escape my dear Kishins over and over again." The man crosses his arms over his chest, his muscles almost cutting through his thin skin. "Maybe a little more attitude, but we all knew you were never alone."

"I don't know what you are talking about." I stutter as the man kneels down in front of my bird cage.

"Don't play dumb with us Grigori. We can do this the easy way, or the hard way. Now tell me everything about your group. How many are there and what types of Meisters are they? Give me their names and I promise you will walk out of here unharmed."

Why does everybody talk about Meisters? My mother talked about Meisters and they seemed to talk a language I had no clue what they were talking about. Why does everybody expect _me_ to know about Meisters and about people? I have never heard about those terms if it wasn't for my mother and that guy.

That guy…

My mother had killed him. She had murdered him in cold blood before the house had started to burn. Why did my mother feel so threatened by him to the point she had to kill him? She said something about "doing the job properly." Does that mean she had tried to kill him before? Exactly why was he better off dead than alive? I don't get it.

"I… I don't know what you are talking about―"

His fist slams into the cage bar. "You chose the hard way." He stands up on his feet and walks toward the door. "Give her a lesson not to lie to me." He says and two large men walk inside of the room.

"Alright sweet pea." A man with light brown hair with many piercings in his ears and nose says. "I will show you what happens when you lie."

The other guy, a guy with black hair and white high lights opens the door to the cage and grabs my wrist, pulling me out roughly, he even dragged me out of the cage, not bothering when I flinch in pain.

"I don't like this." I say as the man with black hair grabs my feet. "Let me go!" I start fighting their grip on my limbs, but they are too strong for me. Their grip on me doesn't even budge. They carry me out of the room my cage is inside and I gasp loudly in horror. All those monsters, those kinds of monsters I saw my mother turn into, they are all locked inside of cages just like mine, but theirs are far smaller than mine. They can barely sit inside of them.

This is horrible! Is my mother inside one of those cages? Is my father being just as badly treated as me?

They carry me inside of an isolated room with a chair that reminds me of the chair you sit when you visit the dentist, although, this one has belt buckles that keep your legs and arms strapped to the chair.

This can't be good.

I yelp when they throw me into the chair and immediately strap the belts around my ankles and wrists. Even though it is useless, I try to fight the belts that cut of my blood circulation.

"You won't go anywhere. The chair and the belts are soaked with blood lines." A female says. She turns toward me with a large needle in her hand. "You can stop struggling. You won't get away from here until we get what we want."

Blood lines? What… so many new things… this is seriously giving me a headache.

"Is my mother and father okay? Please tell me they are alright!" I plead and I quickly run out of hope to struggle against the belts.

"Your mother?" She snorts. "I'm surprised you still care about her when she is the one who turned you and your father in."

Turned us in? She didn't turn us in!

"You liar! My mother would never do such a thing to us!"

She chuckles darkly as she put her black hair into a nice buddle on her head. Her eyes have a pattern of spider web, how come everybody has freaky eyes? None of those can be natural and contacts must be annoying to wear.

"But she did." She taps against the syringe in her hands, examining the transparent liquid inside of it. I really hope that is just water! Water can't hurt me, right? I can't even think rationally during these circumstances! This entire situation is freaking me out! "And now I will teach you what happens when you lie to the Star*Clan."

She inserts the needle into my vein and the liquid joins my blood. Let's just say, it could _not_ be water because this liquid could be liquid _fire._ The substance quickly spreads through my body, making every cell in my body light on fire. I let out a high pitched scream as my body spasm, only the buckles keeping me in place.

"It is pure Kishin venom but don't worry, it won't be able to turn you. Your soul will reject it and take care of it." The woman says calmly as she cleans the needle from my blood.

I don't know how long it went, but I screamed at the top of my lungs until the woman I learned whose name is Arachne, taped my mouth shut. I kept screaming in pain and as soon as the venom wore off, Arachne would roughly rip the tape off and ask me a question about these Meisters I didn't even know of. I couldn't give her an answer, so she would give me another round of the venom and add something to make the pain even worse. She would increase the dose and make the pain even worse and when the dose wore off, she would pull a tooth out and cut my thigh.

The pain never ended, it went on and on and on until my body was completely numb. Arachne's two men then threw me back into my cage "making me think twice about lying." The only problem is _I'm not lying!_

There was no clock inside of the room so I had no idea how many hours had gone by, all I knew is the adrenaline is pumping so hard in my body I have no urge to eat anything and that is great consider they don't serve any food to their prisoners.

Hours must have gone by when I was inside of that cage. I never moved a muscle, I just laid there on the ground feeling the pain of the aftermath of the torture I had endured. My thighs are cut open and I miss at least two teeth. My mouth is filled with the taste of cooper and my gum is sore from the forcefully removal of my teeth. Luckily for me, no one will hopefully notice it since they are at the back of my mouth.

As I lay there, thinking about everything they said about Meisters, Kishins and Grigories. It is all so confusing since at the back of my mind, I know I have heard those words before but I just can't remember. Every time I think I got the answer, it seems to slip away from me.

The door opens again and I flinch. It slams shut and the man with the white hair and muscles are present. "Have you thought about lying again?"

I don't say anything, I don't think I'm even capable of speaking. How am I even supposed to open my mouth and try to express words when I don't even know where my muscles are? How the heck am I supposed to do such a very normal quest in this state? I won't be able to say anything verbally, or express anything physical either. The only word that exists in my vocabulary is screams.

"So you are going to be that way instead, trying to escape questions by ignoring me." The man says and stands up again. "Back to the torture chamber then. Arachne has something very good in store for you."

By good he meant that she removed one more tooth and cut up my gum and the classic Kishin venom trick she just enjoys to give me. She seemed even sicker than I felt pain. She laughed at me as I squirm in pain and she smudged my blood over her face before she would be disgusted with herself for getting dirty. She is a nutjob alright.

Session after session of torture went by and I ended up more and more hurt. My legs coated a layer of dry blood and so my arms. My jaw also soaked with the blood that never seems to stop flowing out of my mouth. At one time, I actually tried to get the blood to choke me but that proved to be harder than I thought. I just wanted this nightmare to end.

By now, I just want to die, to end my miserably life. The pain is too bad and I have almost lost all my teeth and my whole skin is covered with cuts and blood. I have definitely reached my limit long, _long_ time ago. Couldn't they just kill me? That is all I want, to die and end the pain.

White*Star, the man who had always come inside of my room once again walk inside. He kneels down in front of my cage like usual and his star-eyes send shivers down my spine. I hate stars. "Have you finally broken down or are we going to have to step up the game?"

Step up the game? He had already done everything to hurt me? Is there really something more he can do?

When I didn't say anything, he stood up and walks out again. Giriko and Asura walk inside and take me to Arachne's little hellhole again. It was a long time ago I stopped fighting them. I was mentally half dead, my will to live is completely gone and everything I feel is the pain of the venom along with the new tricks Arachne always have in store for me.

"So little Miss Grigori still hasn't had enough." She puffs up her ego as she goes through all of her torture tools. "Now what should I do with you?" She picks up a small knife I often used in biology class when we dissected frogs. "Maybe cut you up some more?" She shakes her head and puts it down. "No, that causes far too little pain." She then picks up a very large butcher knife with dry blood on it. "Maybe I should cut off your arm?" I don't even flinch at her babble what kind of pain she will deal to me. "No, that would require us to stop the bleeding. Not something I would want to do." She put the knife away before she smirks wide. "Now I know what I will do with you." Her hand grips a very slim and thin knife. "Maybe if you lost something valuable, you would learn your lesson."

My heart almost jumps out of my mouth when she steadily holds the knife over my right eye.

"Say bye bye to your precious eye." The knife plunges into my eye and I let out a high pitch scream. She laughs crazily as she keeps stabbing me in my eye. Pain courses through my right side of my face as I feel the white substance that once was my eye trickle down my face.

She could rip out all my teeth and I wouldn't care, she could cut off the poor excuse for a chest, heck, she could cut off my nose, everything but my eyes. Those were always the only thing I really liked about myself. My eyes were always the one part of my body that I admired and truly loved, but now, that self-confidence is gone, shattered to the ground as it pools down my face and neck.

"My, my, my, I got a little carried away." Arachne says as she cleans her knife. "Giriko, take her back to her cage. Then bring Kami to finish the job. She won't talk so we might as well get rid of the trash."

Thank you. Thank you, thank you, thank you. Finally, the time comes. I won't have to bear the burden of just existing. Once again I will be feather light and without a care in the word. As long as I'm gone, I will be more than happy.

When Giriko throws me inside of my cage, for the first time, my muscles twitch and a small, barely noticeable smile comes. Just the news of death is more than enough to keep my spirit up.

The waiting for my mother to walk inside of that door is almost worse than all of the pain I endured. The waiting, the anticipation of finally be united with death is so unbearable I have to chew on my lower lip in order to keep myself in check. I can taste the disgusting soupy liquid of my eye mixed with the cooper taste of my blood. It is disgusting but it then reminds me of the pain and how close I always come to take that step into my grave to just have Arachne ruin everything.

The door finally opens and in walk Asura, Giriko and my mother. She is in hand cuffs and she is wearing a collar with a lock of some reason.

"Alright." Giriko says coolly while he fishes up a key from his pocket, unlocking the collar around her neck and taking it off. "Go crazy."

My mother growls low in her throat and she transform into the beast. She roars like a monster and she goes mad on the bars. The bars go flying onto the walls before they clatter down on the ground. The whole cage is gone and she steps over the low bars that are still intact to the floor.

I should say something, anything. She is my mother. I want to tell her that I don't blame her for killing me because this is what I want. I have already been dead for a very long time, it is time to make it official.

I expected my mother to bury her claws into me like she did to that guy, but instead, she leans down toward my neck and exposes her fangs. Her teeth sink into my neck and I groan in pain. My eyes suddenly widen when a large wave of Kishin poison rushes into my blood system. I scream loudly in pain as my body spasm uncontrollably on the ground.

"Damn it Kami!" Giriko hollers and take a step toward my mother. "You are supposed to kill her! Kill her you beast!" He snatches out a whip from his waistband of his jeans and whips my mother hard.

She hollers in pain and glares at Giriko and Asura. "Save… Maka… Save… Daughter." She chants and she roars loudly.

She has turned on her masters.

She swings her large claws at Asura and he skillfully draws a sword and blocks them. Why are they glowing? It must be the lights.

The battle is full on and Giriko and Asura have great teamwork when it comes to fighting. I can't even see their movements. They move so fast around my mother and her skin blocks their attacks successfully. She swings her claws madly at them but she misses them.

How can humans move that fast? As soon as I see Asura or Giriko stop, they are gone the next microsecond. This won't ever end in the pace things are going in―

I'm picked up from the ground and a knife is against my throat. It cut me a little as I squirm in the man's arms.

"Surrender!" Asura hollers from behind me. "If you don't, your daughter dies!"

My mother stops, she growls loudly as she glares daggers at Asura.

She must have forgotten about Giriko since when he comes in front of her, she has no time to block. His knife sinks in between her scales at her throat. She roars out in pain and Giriko twists the knife, cutting up her whole throat. My mother coughs up black blood and stumbles a little on her feet.

Asura's eyes widen when her body slams into us and gets him away from me. The next second she is on top of me and her teeth are once again in my neck. My screams become louder, louder than I have ever screamed and my throat isn't that sore from all of my screaming.

_Survive. Achieve your dreams and be happy, do it, do it for your mother. I want to see you happy._

I want to keep living. I want to make my mother proud.

_The memory block will disappear when you hear words of affection from the one who holds your heart._

I want to hear those words.

Her eyes stare into mine. Her red eyes slowly turn into the green eyes I was always familiar with. Not the cold green eyes I had seen inside of the kitchen, but the vibrant green eyes that made you want to smile. The same eyes she always looked at me when I was a little girl afraid of the dark.

Despite the burning pain that courses violently through my veins, the corner of my lips twitch into a faint smile. "Mama."

"Maka." She whispers, in her warm and loving voice, not the one of the monster. "I will always love you." The black blood from her neck drips onto my chest. "Be a good girl and make your mother proud―" Her voice is cut off and she yells in pain. Giriko's and Asura's hands bury in her wounded neck and the sparks flies from her wound. She hollers in pain, but despite that, I see her smiling back at me. She smiles lovingly at me and her eyes glisters with happiness.

That is the last expression she makes before her body puffs and her ashes rain down over me.

My mother is dead.

They killed her. They murdered my mother.

A new wave of pain courses through me, ever since I got to this place, I never felt any mental pain, but now, my screams of pain are mixed with the pain of my mother being gone, just gone like that.

"Take her to a new cage. White*Star will be more than happy to know he has a new test subject." Giriko orders as he clutches his… his wounded stomach. She got a hit after all.

"R―"

A loud ring goes off. It manages to drown my cries. "Warning, Kishins are loose. Warning Kishins are loose." A monotone voice says.

Giriko curses loudly. "Forget about her! Lock the door after you and go to the east wing!"

Asura nods as they both run out of my prison room, slamming the door after them.

I breathe heavily as I squirm in pain. Smoke is coming up from my legs and arms. If I wasn't screaming uncontrollably in pain, I would have gasped. This can't be happening. The cuts Arachne left behind are healing. They are closing up and leaving no scars behind. I can feel new teeth come out from my gum and my right eye is slowly being regenerated.

How is this even possible?

I almost jump out of my skin when I notice a man wearing a black robe kneel in front of me. His large hand gently cups my cheek and caresses it with his thumb. Why is he so kind toward me?

"I'm sorry I didn't come earlier…" His hand abandons my cheek and he lifts me up from the ground. I yelp in pain and he immediately apologizes. "You can rest. I'm here. I'm going to take care of you."

Rest? Can I really rest? He seems like a nice person.

My eyelids are so heavy and my eye seems to be made out of sandpaper. I don't care if I can trust this man, I just need to sleep.

Slowly my eye closes and the man takes off his hood that covers his face. White hair springs free and large red orbs stare back at me, not like the eyes of a monster, his eyes have a human touch to it and they are so soft. He smiles gently at me as he carries me out from the room.

"I will be here when you wake up." That is the last thing I hear before sleep sweeps me off of my feet.


	26. Chapter XXVI

**Eventide**

**Chapter XXVI**

_Sweet little girl, you have no clue what you have gotten yourself into._

I groan. My limbs feel so sore and fatigue weights them down. My eyes slowly flutters open, my right eye fully healed. The room I'm in is much nicer than the cage I was for an unknown amount of hours or days or weeks. I'm actually lying on a _bed_, not on a rotten mattress or floor, an actual bed with a nice mattress with fluffy pillows along with a fine blanket. This seems like a very expensive bed.

"How are you feeling?" I turn to my right and there sits the man, the one who saved me from that hideous place. He looks awful. His eyes are bloodshot and he has a beard. His white hair is greasy and very messy with knots. When is the last time he used a razor or a comb?

"Fine." My voice is hoarse and sore. I better stay away from raising my voice or I might lose my voice.

"Twelve days. From the moment you disappeared from Hiro to the moment we managed to get you out of Star*Clan's building. Twelve days went and plus the two days you were sleeping." He says as he moves the chair closer to my bedside. "Were you trying to kill me?"

"Kill you?" I say perplexed. "How could I kill you?"

He sighs loudly and shakes his head. He makes a poor attempt to run his hand through his hair but his fingers get entangled in the knots in his hair. "So it is true. You can't remember anything." His eyes meet mine and I almost gasp with surprise. His eyes glister with tears and he quickly rubs them away before they can spill over. "You can't even remember me."

So I am supposed to know him too?

"Listen." I carefully heave myself up into a sitting position. Good, no pain. "I don't know what all of you want, but I don't know you or anyone. I'm just a normal teenage girl who lived my whole life with my parents. I read books and studies on my free time and that is it. I haven't seen you before and I haven't heard of such things as Meisters and Kishins before." I swing my feet over the ledge of the bed, with my back toward the young man. "And if you excuse me, I have to find my father―"

"Your father is in the room next door. He is fine. He wasn't tortured or anything." He grabs my hand and gently tugs me back toward the bed. "You are still weak from the ordeal. You should rest."

I shake my head and tug my hand from his. "I want to go home. I appreciate what you did for my father and I, but we have to return home."

"Your house doesn't exist. It burned down to the ground."

Oh fuck. Life, give me something more! Are you trying to utterly destroy me? What exactly have I done to deserve it?

"You are currently inside of the Death Mansion, I know, it is a weird name, but Kid and the Thompson sisters are willing to take you two in until you have sort out everything with the insurance company and gotten your own place." The man grabs my hand again and gently tugs me back so I'm lying down on the bed again. I might as well rest if I and my father can't go anywhere. "I know you must have gone through hell inside of the Star*Clan's building, but I need to know what happened there in order to help you."

He doesn't pull his hand away from mine and quite frankly, I don't mind. His hand is much larger than mine and so warm. It makes my stomach tingle. "Help me? How can you help me?"

"The Star*Clan aren't gone, I need to know what they wanted from you and what they did to you. I need to know in order to protect you properly from them―"

"No!" I exclaim and shake my head. "You don't need to do anything, this is insane! Monsters don't exist! I just want to go home with my dad! I just want to forget about everything!"

The man squeezes my hand. "Unfortunately you can forget this. You might have been able to forget about us and your true past, but you can't run away from who you truly are. You and your father can't get away from this. Your father is actually doing well adapting to this life style, he is doing everything he can in order to be of use to you."

His eyes. They are so red and so soft and those sharp teeth that poke out from his lips. His appearance can't be natural, but yet, they look so real.

"Exactly what is my father doing?"

"He is currently mastering his wavelength. The trauma from the Star*Clan must have activated his Meister powers. He came out as the Doctor type of Meister. Tsubaki is currently trying to help him as well as she can in order to help him become a better Meister."

Tsubaki. I have heard that name before.

I have no clue what this guy is talking about. Everything sounds gibberish if you ask me.

"Why are you telling me all of this?" I think back to when the alarm went off and he came inside of my cell and saved me. "Why did you save me? Why are you _here?_"

The man flinches and his lip stiffen. A sharp tooth bites down into his lower lip and his hand squeezes mine tightly. "Do you really want to know? The truth will shock you."

The truth?

"I'm not sure, but I do want to know what your motive was for saving me was. I want to know why you are here beside me when I have no clue who you are."

He nods and leans closer to me, his eyes gazing into mine with such intensity. "I saved you because we are an item, well, the night before you disappeared you actually broke up with me for the stupidest reason ever." He squeezes my hand harder and his face comes closer to mine. "I saved you because you mean the world to me and I'm not ever going to let you go." Why is my head hurting and my heart racing? "I saved you because I'm inevitably and unconditionally in love with you."

I gasp loudly and clutch my head. My back aches as a massive pain assaults my head as images flash before my eyes.

Hiro…

Tsubaki…

Black*Star…

Kim…

And most importantly, Soul… oh Soul… my love…

Soul cups my cheeks and looks so worried at me, his thumbs gently stroking my cheeks as he whispers words of love into my ear. He doesn't even mind me yelping and gasping in pain. His fingers snake under my hands and gently massages my temples. I'm feeling so much at the same time, pleasure, hurt, anger, sadness, hatred, love, and all of those feelings I don't know the name of.

I don't know what I'm supposed to do. I don't know if I want to cry, laugh, fight or kiss Soul, so I end up crying in pain even though the images stopped and the pain slowly reduced.

"Maka…" He whispers my name into my ear while he gently massages my temples. "Are you alright?"

I don't even know what to say, _am I_ okay? I don't know. I'm so mad and confused. I'm so mad at Soul for being around Kim and at the same time I'm so happy he is here, but at the same time I just want to choke him for making that deal with Stein. Oh, what the heck am I going to do?

_Why don't you show him how much he hurt you then?_

I didn't have to decide since my hands did it for me. My hands grip Soul's neck as I tighten my grip around it.

"You jerk! How could you hurt me like that! You chose Kim over me! I bet you even slept with her! How could you do such a thing to me! Why would you play with my heart like this you inconsiderate b―"

Soul doesn't bother with trying to remove my hands from his neck, instead he put his index finger on my lips and stares into my eyes.

The gesture shocks me so I lighten my grip on his throat.

Soul gasps loudly and takes a few deep breathes. "You need to shut your tramp before you blow a vein in your brain." He gently removes my hands from his neck and holds my right hand with his left one. "Nothing happened between Kim and I, I will admit that she has tried to seduce me into liking her again, but I never did anything with her."

_See? They did SOMETHING. I bet he licked her pussy clean._

"What. Happened!" I growl through my teeth.

Soul sighs and takes his hand off of my lips, he runs his now free hand through his hair. "She came inside of my room in only a towel, okay. She straddled me naked and forcefully kissed me. The kiss was over before it even begun. I know I didn't do anything wrong because I didn't want it and I never let anything happen. I left the room immediately after that―"

I slap Soul hard across the face. His face whips roughly to the side and a large red mark colors his face. My hand stings from the contact and I look away from Soul. "Leave."

"Maka, l―"

"What is there to listen to?!" I yell with tears in my eyes. "You _did_ do something with her!" Tears trickle down my cheeks and I quickly wipe them away. "You betrayed me and you moved in with her! I know you put your gang before me but that really hurt! You stabbed me in the back and look what happened! I got my eye dug out and my teeth removed! They repeatedly injected me with Kishin venom and kept torturing me until I would tell them something I didn't even remember! Because of your stupid egoistic decision of being with Kim, Hiro is dead and so is my mother!" My voice cracks at the end and I find myself crying uncontrollably. I cover my eyes with my hands as I sob loudly. "Hiro is dead and I lost my mother again!"

Well, my mother had almost kill Hiro before and hurt plenty of my friends, but she was still my mother and I had missed her so much.

"Maka, I know I did a mistake." He whispers and gently cups my face. "I did the wrong thing by making that deal, I hurt you more than I can ever imagine and I know a sorry won't be enough to soothe your pain of the betrayal I did, but I'm damn going to make everything I can in order to make everything right." Soul kisses my forehead and he pulls me into a tender hug. "And I did deserve that slap."

"I'm still mad at you!" No, I'm not. I'm a puddle of sweet mush. Oh, why does Soul make me feel these sweet emotions? These sweet, so sweet emotions. "Just stop." My words say one thing, but my body language certainly tells a different story.

Soul chuckles and he gently rocks me in his arms. "Of course you are." He says with irony dripping from his mouth. "And for your information, Hiro is very much alive."

I pull away from Soul, my eyes wide. "What? He is?! But I saw… I saw him… I saw him die and I saw him inside of the burning house!"

"Lets just say he had a pair of sisters on his side." Soul winks. "Liz and Patty found the house and sensed his soul inside of it and they saved him. They saved him just in time for me and the rest to arrive at your house." His face falls and he gently grabs my hands. "But you were long gone. Kilik tried to track you but you were gone so the only option we had was to save Hiro and hear what he had to say."

I roll my eyes and I cup Soul's face. "Skip that part, I don't want to hear it, at least not now, I want to know something else." Okay, I'm not mad at Soul! I have to admit that.

"What is it?" Soul says and wraps his arms around my waist.

"The deal said that you had to be around Kim at all costs, you haven't been around her and I couldn't see her anywhere at Star*Clan's base. Explain that to me."

Soul smirks wide and he rests his head on my forehead. "I thought you would never ask. As soon as Stein finished treating him, I left the gang. Fortunate for me, all the others followed me, everybody except for Kim and Stein. So the deal is no more." His thumbs gently massage my hips as he leans closer to me. "I don't know why it took so long to make this decision, I knew from the beginning I would end up like this. I should never have made that deal."

"It doesn't matter." My arms slip around his neck and I play with the hair at his nape. "As long as you are here now."

Soul leans down and our lips meet. I had missed this feeling. The taste of spice and mint along with the smooth texture of his lips. His hands hovering over my body while he pulls me close to his chest. I missed him so much, this man, he is the best one there is.

He lean me down on the bed and keeps kissing me. He doesn't make any attempt of going anywhere farther than making out and I'm grateful for that.

We were so completely lost in the moment we didn't even notice when my father walked inside of the room.


	27. Chapter XXVII

**Eventide**

**Chapter XXVII**

It was awkward. My dad had transformed from being a drunken ignorant father to a Doctor Meister with obsession issues when it came to me. Now when he knows about the Kishins, he blames himself for treating me like he did, so now, he has put his heart and soul to keep me safe, and that includes keeping Soul and I from having a moment alone.

If Soul was in my presence, you could damn sure count my father in and if we came close to each other, he would definitely stop us by either getting in between us or taking one of us away from the other, who was most of the time me.

I love my father, I do, but now with this new style he is living in, it is kind of annoying.

"So how are you feeling? You have been quiet for some time now?" Tsubaki asks me as she drives toward the mall.

My dad had grown quite possessive and Soul had come up with the idea that Tsubaki and I would have a girl's night while he would try to get to know my father and hopefully, get his approval. Most likely, he will get a lecture about safe sex than his approval (not that he would ever approve of me sleeping with him) but it is worth a try.

It had gone two days since I awoke from my slumber, and since then, something was weird. I kept having these weird impulses and Soul was the one who always had to suffer because of it since I ended up hitting him quite a lot. Just one word could make me angry and hit him and marsh away. Every single time, I had apologized, but it never seemed to be enough for me even though Soul forgave me in an instant.

"It's just… I don't know… I guess it is just hard to adapt myself with my father's new personality…"

"Are you sure that is everything?" Tsubaki asks as she parks the car outside of the mall. "You have been acting differently too."

So she has picked up on it too. I wonder if Soul has it too.

_She is way too snoopy, why don't you teach her what happens when you get too involved in people's private lives?_

My eyes narrow. "That is none of your business." I get out of the car and slam the door shut behind me. "Now are we going shopping or what?" I sneer loudly.

"Y-yeah." Tsubaki says as she locks the car and run up beside me. "I'm sorry, I didn't mean to pry."

I really shouldn't have snapped at her like that.

We walk along the sidewalk as we head toward Tsubaki's favorite clothing store, when my eyes catch sight of a tattoo shop. Tattoos… It sounds cool.

_Then why don't you go and get some ink on your skin? Become the rebel I know you are!_

Hmm, tattoos sounds like a _really_ cool idea.

"I want a tattoo."

"Huh?" Tsubaki turns to me, her gaze moving from me and the tattoo shop. "That is sudden, are you sure you want to get one? It will be permanent and you can't take it away if you regret it."

"Don't worry about me." I head toward the small shop. "I already know what I want." The doorbell rings as I step inside the small shop. A man sits by a desk, drawing something with a cigarette in his mouth. His exposed arms are covered in ink and he also has ink on his face and neck.

"So what business does a little girl have here?" He asks, looking up from his work, he seems to be drawing a skull with roses around it.

"I want to get a tattoo of a green eye on my wrist." I want the tattoo to honor the memory of my mother, not the Kishin she had become, but my _real_ mother. The one who nurtured me when I was young and the one who fought Giriko and Asura. That person was my mother who I will always remember. The one who loved her daughter dearly and would sacrifice her life in order to save the ones who matters to her.

"Shouldn't you have your parent's consent with you, little girl?"

"Does it even matter?"

He chuckles and slowly shakes his head. "Nah, a customer is a costumer and I have never given a shit about parents." A tattoo artist with daddy issues, how cute. "Just give me a few minutes to draw a sketch."

Tsubaki and I take a seat on a couch while the artist draws my tattoo. "So you are really going to do this?" She asks concern.

"Yeah, I am."

It didn't take long for the artist to draw my tattoo. It was a classic cartoonish eye which would fit my writs perfectly. It would be a great tattoo for my mother.

The tattoo artist then put the design on my skin and then started to carve it into my skin. It did hurt, but now as much as I thought it would. The pain was slight which made it much easier for me to enjoy ever stroke of the mechanical pencil.

Two hours went by and the Tattoo Artist finished my tattoo. The emerald eye shine bright as a diamond with so much life and happiness in it, exactly how my mother's eyes always looked like.

"It is beautiful." I say as I watch the Tattoo Artist wrap a bandage around it.

"What did you think I would do? I don't make half-assed tattoos." He sneers and I roll my eyes, paying him for the tattoo. "If you want to get more ink on your body, come back here sweet pea."

"Yeah, I will remember that." Tsubaki and I exit the small shop.

"It is a very beautiful tattoo you chose." Tsubaki says. Her eyes wander to the bandage decorating my right wrist. "It is unique."

"Thanks." I say as we enter the mall to then enter the store Tsubaki has been longing for to go inside. Of course she wants to look at underwear when she and Black*Star have their fun time. She happily takes the kinkiest clothes in the store without any shame at all written on her face before she walks to the changing rooms. That girl, she looks so innocent but in reality she is the kinkiest girl I know. I wouldn't be surprised if they use whips and cuffs in their bedroom.

I sigh heavily as I wait outside of the changing room, a large mirror covering the wall. I keep looking at myself, leaning against the wall to Tsubaki's changing room. My reflection follows the same pose as me.

That is until its head cracks toward the side. I can hear as the neck snap. It doesn't echo at the small hallway of changing rooms, it is inside of my head. The sound of a clock ticking fills my mind without myself even thinking about it. Slowly I raise my hand, my reflection doesn't follow me.

This is creeping me out.

The ticking grows louder. I near the mirror and I notice that my reflection doesn't even look like myself. I have dark smudges underneath my eyes and my eyes are bloodshot. My veins almost pop out at my cheeks and my teeth are sharper than they are, they aren't as sharp as Soul's, but they are sharp.

"What in the world…" I whisper as I look at this different me inside of the mirror.

My reflection smirks madly as it puts its hand on the glass.

"Who are you…?" I mutter and the reflection must have heard me.

The reflection's claw-like nails dig into the glass and words painted in black blood appears on the glass. _"Your doom."_ It is written with large scary bold letters. I let out a high shriek when the glass breaks and the shards rain down on the ground.

"Maka!" Tsubaki runs out of the dressing room with only her shirt on. "Are you okay?"

The ticking sound doesn't go away. It keeps ticking inside of my head. It ticks in the same pace of my heart. My breath quickens and my hands start shaken. The sound of Tsubaki's voice is drowned out and the only thing I hear is the sound of the maddening ticking noise inside of my head.

My vision grows darker and darker as I hyperventilate. I haven't a clue how long I sat on the ground among the shards of the mirror, but it must have been some time since Soul, Black*Star and Kilik comes to my aid.

Soul gently kneels down in front of me and his eyes locks with mine. His hands cup my cheeks and caress them soothingly. His voice is the only noise that actually cuts through the ticking noise.

"Maka… breathe… In and out…" He commands me and I follow his instructions. "Good girl." He whispers as he keeps caressing my cheeks. "What happened? Are you okay?"

"I… I don't know…" I sniffle leaning into Soul's embrace. Tears pouring down my cheeks. The ticking sound just doesn't want to go away. "I saw something in the mirror… and… and― it just shattered."

"Soul." Kilik says with seriousness in his voice.

"I know. I will take care of this." Soul says and gently rocks me in his arms. "Don't worry Maka, everything will be alright."

I sob into Soul's chest and he kisses my head. "Can you take me home?"

"Of course, can you stand up?" I nod and Soul helps me up on my legs. "By the way, what's up with the bandage?"

Soul supports me as he takes me out of the shop, leaving Kilik, Black*Star and Tsubaki behind.

"I got a tattoo."

"Really? Can I see it?"

I nod and gently take off the bandage, revealing my tattoo. My skin is still swollen and slightly red.

"That is a cool tattoo." Soul gently runs his thumb over the design of the eye. "Why did you want to get a tattoo?"

"It is basically to honor my mother's existence." I say and grab Soul's hand. "Can we skip talking about her? I don't want to talk about it."

"Of course." We arrive at his bike. His bike doesn't stand far away from Tsubaki's car.

_Geez, you are so boring! Go and do something fun. Smoking a cigarette like that hot Tattoo Artist seemed like a fun thing to do._

Licking my lips, I feel the urge to have something in my mouth, not just a gum or a lollipop, I want something else.

"Can you wait here for a second? I want to go to the supermarket and get something."

Soul raises his eyebrow, already sitting on his bike. "Okay, will be you alright going by yourself?"

_Man, does he think we are a pussy? _

"I can take care of myself." I sneer and stomp away from Soul. He is so stupid! Seriously, I'm eighteen and I can do whatever I want. I can do _whatever I want._ Now I know exactly what I want to get.

I walk inside of the store and walks right up to the cashier. "A pack of cigarettes and a lighter."

He raises his eyebrow at me. He looks like he just came up from the bed. He doesn't bother with asking about my age. He hands me a pack of cigarettes and a lighter in exchange for money. As I fumble with the package as I walk out, I put a cigarette between my lips and lights it. The cigarette lights up and put the lighter into my pocket along with the package. Taking a large drag, the smoke fills my mouth and I start coughing.

Damn. This will need some practice.

I take another drag and this time, I can enjoy the rush without coughing. I grow a little light-headed but that is okay, the rush is absolutely amazing. My back hit the wall as I take an even larger drag and this time I end up coughing again.

"First a tattoo and now smoking." I jump on the spot and I see Soul standing at my side. "Really? You know smoking is bad and―"

"Just shut up!"

_Good girl, be naughty!_

I take a large drag and I blow the smoke in his face. "You can't tell me what to do. I want to smoke and I'm not going to stop because you say so. You don't own me. I'm eighteen and I can do whatever I want to do."

Soul sighs loudly as he massages the top of his nose. "You are a big girl. I'm not ignorant. You are changing and let me tell you, it isn't for the better. You get a tattoo, get a freak out over a mirror to then start smoking. Something is going on that you aren't telling me about. Now, what is it?"

I narrow my eyes at Soul and put out my cigarette on the palm of his hand. He doesn't even flinch in pain or anything. I can play the tough game too. "I'm going to hit the town. You can go back by yourself. I'm going to come back before nightfall."

I turn toward Soul but he grabs my wrist, fortunate my left one so he doesn't hurt my still sore skin. "We will continue this conversation when you get back." He releases my hand and lets me walk away.

Oh man, I have about three hours for myself to do whatever I want. This will be fun. I take a new cigarette from my package and lights it. I walk down the streets and I see girls with cigarettes in their mouths with guys clinging to their neck. Now I know exactly what I want to do.

I finish my cigarette and borrow a toilet inside of a store. I smirk wide when I unbutton my blouse so the ribbon on my bra is exposed and if you look sideways, my whole bra will be visible. Perfect. I rip my skirt so my butt almost hangs out of my skirt. I giggle happily as I light another cigarette inside of the bathroom as I take out my pigtails and fluff up my hair into a messy look, making me look like I had a crazy time in bed.

Fun in bed.

That sounds like an even better idea.

The fire alarm goes off and I smirk wide as I walk out of the bathroom, not a care in the world when the costumers throw me looks. As soon as I walk out of the store, I take another drag and I watch as a young man scans me, smirking before he walks pass me.

I look hooooot!

I keep walking down the street, swaying with my hips seducing as I puff out my chest. It doesn't take long before a male approaches me with sexual intentions.

"Damn girl, you got a fine ass." He says and gives my butt a slap before he squeezes it.

I yelp before I giggle. "It looks even better with a cock in it." I push my butt against his crutch and seductively rubbing our hips together. We are lucky we are in an alley way.

He groans and turns me around. I spread my legs so his crutch can rub against my core. I can feel his excitement grow larger and harder and I find myself giggle. "My apartment isn't far away, you on?" His hands wander to my ass and he roughly grips it.

"I'm so o―"

"Get the fuck away from her!" Someone roughly pulls me away from the guy and it isn't hard to guess that the certain _someone_ is Soul.

"Come on man, you got to chill―" The man tries to take control of the situation, but obviously Soul won't let him get his dick wet with my juice.

"You were getting it going with _my girlfriend!_" Soul growls loudly and his grip on my wrist tightens. "If you don't disappear this second I can guarantee your corpse will rot inside of a dumpster without your dick and your body in pieces!"

I can't see Soul's expression, but I can see the unknown man turns to horror. He doesn't waste a second and immediately runs away from Soul and I.

Soul turns toward me and his eyes are murderous. His jaw is tense and he is not pleased with this situation. "What the fuck was that?" He hollers and grabs a hold of my blouse. "What the fuck is up with your slutty outfit? Did you seriously want to fuck that guy?"

I roll my eyes and grab a new cigarette to just have Soul grab the whole package and throw it away. "What the fuck?!

"Just answer my fucking question!" Soul pushes me against the wall of a building roughly and traps me between his arms.

"You want answers? I wanted a fucking good time and I wanted him to fuck my brains out! I wanted his big fat cock inside of me rather than your obnoxious lil' dick and your fucking feelings!" Who am I trying to fool? I would take Soul any day and I would ride the fuck out of him.

"Take that back." He growls lowly. "You take that fucking back."

He looks so god damn sexy when he is pissed. I can feel the wet fabric of my panties press against my soaked core. I just want any dick right now.

I smash my lips into his and he roughly kisses me back. He presses me aggressively against the wall as his hands touch every inch of my body. His hands grope my breasts and my ass and it feels so fantastically good. I moan loudly into his mouth as I fumble with his belt buckle. I unzip his fly and my hand rubs his boxers. He feels amazing and I can feel him grow harder and harder.

Soul groans into my mouth and he slaps my hand away from his crutch. "That is enough!" He grows loudly. I just love it when he goes rough. "You are fucked up. It is time for you to come back home. The sun is going to go down soon."

I flip us so it is him who presses up against the wall. "Listen to me, you are going to fuck me right here right now! You aren't going to leave me hanging!"

_Fuck him. Go on, and take him. Bite him hard and murder his dick!_

I barely managed to register what happened. I was pressing Soul against the wall, baring my teeth at his neck, the next moment the wall roughly presses against my cheek and Soul holds my hands together behind my back. I can't move at all, his legs lock mine to the wall and make it utterly impossible for me to escape.

"I'm sorry Maka, but this is for your own good." He grabs my head and then slams it into the wall, successfully knocking me out. Fucking dipshit.


	28. Chapter XXVIII

**Eventide**

**Chapter XXVIII**

I'm so embarrassed. I can't believe I acted like that toward Soul! Heck, I rubbed myself up against another dude in front of him to then almost give Soul a handy in an alleyway. I can't believe I actually dressed that way and started to smoke.

I have to apologize to Soul and beg him to forgive me.

I get up from my too expensive bed Lord Death provided for me. They are spoiling me and my father and it doesn't feel good if you ask me. I would rather sleep on a decent bed than having someone give me such a large and luxuries bed.

My phone lies on the night stand with a note signed with my name. The poor writing tells that it is Soul who wrote it.

I pick up the note and read it.

_We need to talk about yesterday night._

He doesn't write his usual XOXO or any dear or love, just that one sentence. My heart falls down to my stomach and I would rather run away than talking to Soul, but I need to do it. He deserves an explanation to this.

I pick up my phone and scrolls down to his name in my contacts. I'm not surprised when he answers on the first ring. "Are you down on earth?"

"Yeah." I say shyly. "Do you want me to come to your apartment so we can talk in private?"

"Sure. I will make breakfast for you."

The call ends and on my way out of the door. I run into my father. It was tricky to shake him off since he was very reluctant of letting me go after "skipping" yesterday's scouting mission. He would rather want us to eat breakfast together, but of course I had other things to do and take care of. I managed to shake my father off and walk to Soul's apartment that isn't that far away from Lord Death's house.

I don't even have to knock on Soul's door, he opens the door and the aroma of scrambled eggs makes my stomach growl loudly.

"I'm lucky I made a ton of breakfast." Soul says and closes the door after me.

"I'm sorry!" I quickly say, my back turned toward him.

Soul chuckles and wraps his arm around my shoulders. "I know. You weren't yourself." Soul rubs my arm and leads me toward the kitchen. "We can discuss it over breakfast."

I almost melted at the sight of his poor excuse of a table. It is nicely decorated with a large breakfast along with a single daisy lying on the table. He must have picked it from the garden outside of his apartment. That is so cute!

I take a seat on the chair and we both start to dig in at the wonderful breakfast. "Don't blame yourself for yesterday's events." Soul skillfully cuts the egg and takes a large mouthful of it, chewing loudly.

I snap my head to Soul's and I look him in his beautiful red eyes. "How can't you blame me? I seduced a guy and I snapped at you like that and I―"

Soul reaches over the table and gently puts his finger over my lips. "You weren't yourself Maka." Soul repeats and he removes his finger from my lips. "I have something I need to tell you. When we rescued you from the Star*Clan, you were so infected with madness we were too afraid to use Soul Force on you. We didn't know if it would actually go away or if you would end up as a pile of ashes. Your soul gave you away, I can see madness is slowly devouring your soul and very soon, you will turn fully into a Kishin."

I gaps, my hand turns slack and the fork clatter on my plate. My mouth keeps opening and closing while my heart is going haywire. A Kishin? I'm infected? So that is why I had those crazy and irrational impulses? My reflection, the girl inside of the mirror, so she is my Kishin part?

"… I'm going to die."

"No." Soul says and rises from his sit, walking around the table to then kneel by my chair. "I'm going to find a solution, there is no way I'm going to let you die. Not now, not ever." Soul pulls me into a hug and gently rubs my back.

I break down crying. Tears trickle down my cheeks as I hold Soul close to me. "Aren't you afraid of me?"

"Never. I'm never afraid of you, but I am afraid for your safety." He gently caresses my back. "You will always be my Maka, this won't change how I feel about you."

I cry and I cry. I'm going to die, just like my mother did. I will turn into a monster and maybe kill all of my friends. No, I can't let that happen. I can prevent myself from going mad and killing them all, the only known escape is by killing myself. If it comes down to it that is what I will have to do in order to protect my loved ones.

"Oh, I almost forgot." Soul pulls away so he can look into my eyes. "Hiro discovered something very interesting when I told him about your mother's behavior inside of the Star*Clan's building."

"What is it?"

Soul beams. "Her behavior is obviously very rare and abnormal for Kishins and for her to be able to turn from human to Kishin that is something you don't see often. Since she was so human, she managed to control a certain part of her behavior. What I saw was she protecting you from those people and for some reason, she wanted you to become like her. What I hope is you will be able to control your behavior like your mother did. That you still keep some part of yourself alive and then we can work up your control till you are able to control your impulses."

It is a wild card and for that plan to actually succeed is very low. Is Soul that desperate he is willing to put his money on such a risky thing?

"You can't let me transform." I shake my head. "I don't want to be a Kishin. If I get out of hand, you need to kill me. I would rather be dead than to be a Kishin."

"But―"

"No buts. If you can't bring me back to my senses, I need you to kill me before I hurt anyone else." I stare into Soul's hurt and sad eyes. "You hear me? You need to do everything in order to stop me. If you even think the slightest that I will get out of hand, you need to stop me immediately."

His jaw tenses. "If that is what you want." He simply says.

"Soul?" I ask, cupping his face. I'm going to look him in the eye for this.

"Yeah?"

"Do you really forgive me for what I did? I flipped out when I just saw you with Kim, and you forgave me so easily when I literally humped the guy."

Soul puts his hands over mine. "I have already forgiven you because _you_ wouldn't do such a thing. It was the Kishin who did it. You shouldn't blame yourself for something you didn't even do."

"Oh Soul." I lean forward and capture his lips, bringing him into a tender and simple kiss. I shouldn't hold Soul accountable for something that Kim forced him to do. He didn't do anything wrong with her, it was _her_ who made a move on him, not Soul.

Our lips part and I gently caress his neck. "There is something I want to show you." I get up from my seat and leads Soul to the bathroom. As soon as I look at my reflection, I can see it isn't the usual reflection I have had over the years I have been alive. It is _her._ The smudges underneath her eyes are darker and the veins are more visible. Has she grown this much stronger since yesterday?

"Look. That is her."

Soul puts his hands on my shoulders. "Maka, I don't see anything. All I see is you."

My reflection smirks wide toward me, crossing her arms arrogantly. _Do you really think he would be able to see me little girl?_

My eyes widen and I bump into Soul in my nervous fit. I have heard that voice before. It is my voice, but it is twisted with a crazy and seductive to it.

"Did you hear her?"

Soul's grip on my shoulders tightens. "I didn't hear anything."

He can't see or hear her, but why? He can see her in my soul, so why shouldn't he be able to see her?

My reflection giggles loud. _The clock is ticking, it won't be long before I take that body away from you~_

Quickly I turn away from the mirror and walk out of the bathroom, but I can still hear her giggling inside of my head. "Why can't you just shut the fuck up!" I cry out and I slide down the wall next to the bathroom, covering my eyes with my hands.

"What did it say?" Soul asks, kneeling down in front of me and puts his large hands on my shoulders.

"It is going to take over my body soon." I murmur and it is a miracle Soul heard me.

Soul curses loudly and immediately grabs my hand. "Come on, we got to meet up with the others. Maybe they will come up with something for this situation."

It seems a far off chance, but it is worth a try.

The ride to Kid' mansion was very short and when we arrive in his underground training hall, all of the members of Soul's gang were there training. As soon as Kilik noticed us, he abandoned the boxing gloves and ran over to us.

"Soul!" He exclaims and pants heavily. "We got trouble. There will be an eclipse in two days. We will be royally screwed if Spirit doesn't learn how to heal deeper wounds faster."

Soul curses loudly and releases my hand to run both of his in his hair. "Fuck! This is the last thing we need."

"What does it even mean?"

"It means the Kishins will be even harder to kill." Kilik answers. "They will grow stronger when the moon covers the sun and they will be faster. Their carving for souls will increase and many Meisters and humans will die."

Oh, this doesn't sound good. At. All.

"Go and ask Tsubaki for a report on Spirit's progress on his healing then put her on training duty the rest of the day. She will be excused from scouting tonight to teach Spirit. Prepare all the Meisters for the battle of their lives." Soul orders like a true leader, now I truly know why he is the one leading them all. Even though the situation is critical, he keeps his head cool and leads his men the best he can.

Watching him act so calm and collected… it is hot.

_Then why don't you fuck him then? Do something fun for once, you are so BORING!_

I yelp and Soul immediately notices my sudden move.

Kilik's eyes wanders pass us and he sighs loudly. "Drama just entered the building."

Soul and I turn toward what Kilik saw and instantly when my eyes lay on the pink haired ex-girlfriend of Soul's storm up toward us, I want to rip her apart.

_Then why don't you do that? It's your cock now._

I glare at Kim, tightening my fists. Soul is mine, not hers. She can't just waltz inside and pretend like she owns him.

_Leap at her and rip her apart! Maim her and suck her soul out!_

I'm going to give her a new face, a new and messed up face.

I growl loudly and leap toward Kim. My fists in the air and Kim's eyes widen. I scream like a madwoman when my fists connect with her face. She gasps loudly and stumbles backwards. I swing my fist at her again but unfortunately it doesn't make contact with her.

_Look, your cock ruined your fun. What a buzzkill._

"Calm down. Take a deep breath. The Kishin is trying to take over you. You know you don't act like this. Remember who you are." He whispers gently into my ear as he holds me close to his chest.

I squirm badly in his arms, screaming at the top of my lungs.

Who am I? I'm Maka Albarn, Grigori Meister in Soul's gang and his girlfriend. On my free time I like dressing slutty and seducing men into fucking me in alleyways. I prefer their cocks over the tiny one of Soul. I like it when people tug at my hair and spank my ass as they pound into me roughly.

_Don't forget the whips and gags you love so._

There is nothing hotter when a man knows how to claim a woman and do them aggressively. That is such a huge turn on and I would choose it every time, over and over and over again.

_Why don't you bite him? Show your so called "boyfriend" who is the top dog in your so called "relationship."_

I lick my lips. My stomach stirs and hunger runs my throat dry. I roar loudly and flip around toward Soul. I bare my teeth and dives for his neck. Unfortunate for me, he does that annoying move on me. He slams me against the floor this time and locks my arms behind me. He straddles my behind as he keeps my arms behind my back.

"Go on." I grow loudly. "Pull my hair, rip my skirt to pieces and show me your tiny penis can actually do something."

"You aren't Maka." Soul says calmly.

What is he saying? Of course I am Maka! He is dumber than I give him credit for.

"Kilik! Get the gag and belts! Soak them in Blood Lines!" Soul hollers and I see Kilik nodding, taking off.

Looks like the fun is about to start~

"What is going on? She is mad!" Kim screams like a damsel in distress. Oh I hate those types. "I didn't even do anything!"

The sisters run up to Kim and seem to lead her out of the gym. But I wanted to rip her to pieces~ to devour her soul and soak my skin in her blood and simply relish in the warm liquid of hers~

"Maka." Soul whispers into my ear, his toned chest pressing against my back. "I know you are in there somewhere. Things are _not_ going to end now. I'm not going to let you go now. You hear me?"

I giggle madly. "All I can hear is your pumping cock against my ass."

Soul sighs loudly.

Kilik returns with the gag and belts. All of the Meisters have to restrain me from biting anyone of them. The gag prevents me from biting into their skins and the belts they buckle around my biceps, waist, thighs and ankles keeps me from moving.

Damn! I just want them to touch me sexually and whip me. They aren't even pulling at my hair!

"We need to do something!"

"She is obviously loosing herself."

"Oh my god! She has red eyes! Her teeth are growing sharp and her nails are turning into claws! She is turning into a Kishin!"

"We need to kill her before she breaks free!"

"Just shut the fuck up!" Soul hollers loudly, his nails digging into my wrists. "Just give me a fucking moment!"

"What is going on?" My father storms out and joins the others all around me. "What do you think you are doing to my daughter?!"

Kid, Harvar and Chrona all leaps toward Spirit and tackles him to the ground. He squirms in their grips, trying to free himself.

"Just do it! You can't keep her from turning! You need to kill her now!" Kilik hollers loudly, he sits beside Soul.

"If you aren't going to kill her," Black*Star says. "Then I will." Black*Star's hand lights up and he places it on my chest. The sparks of the Soul Force shakes my body to the core and I let out a high pitched scream of pain.

"You fucking idiot!" Soul yells and slaps his hand away. "We need to save h―"

"Look." Kilik says and points toward my fingers. "The nails stopped growing when the Soul Force made contact with her. I think it is actually killing the Kishin. It isn't doing any harm to her spirit."

"Every Fighting Meister get here immediately!" Soul hollers loudly and he lights up his own Soul Force. "Use your Soul Force on her!" Soul's hand connects with my chest. I roar out loud in pain and my body spasms violently. More hands cover my ankles, thigh and stomach and the pain increases. Soul's other hand connects with my chest and I squirm in pain even more.

It hurts. This hurts even more than the Kishin venom! It feels like every cell in my body is twisting and turning, evolving into something completely new.

"Soul!" Chrona cries out. "We can't keep doing this or we will burn the skin off our hands!"

"Keep going!" Soul ignores his plea. "It is working!"

_No! This can't be! Damned little dick!"_

I let out a final cry before the pain slowly reduces and leaves my body numb.

"Her eyes." Kid says.

"They are back to normal." Black*Star finishes his sentence.

"I can't believe she is back." Kilik says.

Their Soul Forces disappears and I'm left lying on the ground, still with the belts around me and the gag in my mouth.

Soul laughs happily and his hand finds mine. "I knew I wouldn't lose you!" His hands go to the buckles and quickly work the belts off of me. They fall to the ground and he takes off the gag. His arms capture me and bring me into a tight hug. "You are here. You are actually here with me."

Wait. My shoulder is wet. Is he crying?

My arms weakly wrap around his waist and I close my eyes. "Don't cry…" I whisper tiredly. I feel like I can pass out any second now.

"You almost died. I think I have the right to cry." Soul says and gently rubs my back. "You sound exhausted. I will take you to a bed so you can rest." I feel Soul's lips on my forehead as he picks me up from the floor, carries me in his large and muscular arms.

"Soul…" I really should have said this sooner. "I love you…" Everything starts to fade away. "So… so… much." And I find myself caught in a dream.


	29. Chapter XXIX

**Eventide**

**Chapter XXIX**

"My love…" Waking up in my lover's embrace must be the best way to wake up to. "You said it." Soul sniffles. "You are unbelievable… you are incredible… you are so many things…" He whispers into my ear while he caresses my jaw. His touch sends shiver down my spine in the most delicious ways possible. "You are making me feel so much by just smiling toward me… holding my hand and kissing me… but now, you said it… it felt like I was about to explode." I really should open my eyes and announce my arrival from the land of dreams.

Soul inhales my scent loudly and kisses my head. "I want to hear it… again… and again… and again until I know ever move of your tongue you make and every note of your vocal cords."

Screw this. I can't keep pretending to sleep.

My lips collide with his and I can feel his lips shape of surprise, but it only takes a millisecond for him to respond to my sudden assault.

His lips. They are different. Our kiss is different. We have never kissed like this before. His lips communicate love on such a level I have never felt before. His moves are more frantic but not sloppy. The kiss is the most amazing kiss I have ever gotten.

"Soul." I murmur between his kisses.

"Say it again." He says back, not breaking the kiss.

"Soul."

"No, tell me you love me."

Of course he would want me to say that.

"I love you. I love you so much." I gasp into his mouth when Soul thrusts his tongue into my mouth and kisses me passionately. My whole body is tingling deliciously and my nerve endings are on fire. This feels so. GOOD!

"Again." I can barely make out what he is saying through the cloud of pleasure.

"I love you." I don't think he heard what I said, it is hard to talk with a tongue stroking my gum, tongue and teeth, exploring my mouth with such determination.

"You are going to be the death of me." He murmurs and I gasp when his hand grab my hips and pull me closer to him.

Correction; _he_ is going to be the death of _me_ if he doesn't stop doing that thing with his tongue. I moan happily into his mouth when his thumb gently makes small circles on my sensitive flesh.

I pull my mouth off of his and I gasp for air. My heart is everywhere and my body is on fire. "I don't think I can take much more of this treatment." I'm going to explode.

Soul's hand wanders to my cheek and gently cups it. "If you don't want to keep going, then say the word." His lips feather over mine as he speaks.

I do want more, oh I want so much more. I want to own him just like his previous girlfriends had, maybe not like they had since he never loved them, but I do want his body. I want to join him in such an intimate act between two lovers. He is the person I want to have my first time with. I love him so much it feels like I'm going to burst if I'm not getting him in a soon future.

"I do, I want you so badly." I cup his face. "But is it safe to do it _here?_ I mean, isn't the other Meisters just outside and I bet my father will stomp inside at any given moment."

Soul smirks wide and his eyes twinkle just like a little boy's at Christmas day. "Then we get out of here and go back to my apartment. Kid has already offered to switch with me so I get a free night. Wes is with his girlfriend so we will be all alone the whole night."

Girlfriend? Since when did Wes get a girlfriend? Hopefully he got a fine lady since he deserves one.

"Then what are we doing here? Let's go to your apartment." Soul growls animatic and pulls me off the bed and our hands join together.

"Then let's hurry up." I giggle as we hurry out of the room and as suspected, my father walks toward me. His cold glare sets on our entwine hands.

"Maka, you are awake, I was thinking we could―"

"Not now father, some other time." We walk pass him and he looks at me flabbergast.

"But― but―"

We round the corner and we walk fast out of Lord Death's apartment. We jump on Soul's bike and speeds away. He doesn't bother with giving me the helmet and quite frankly, neither do I. Soul safely breaks every traffic rule and when we arrive to Soul's apartment, he sweeps me off of my feet and carries me up the stairs. Our lips lock and he kisses me lustfully.

Soul stumbles inside of his apartment and locks the door after him. I work with taking his jacket off and it falls down the floor. Soul takes off his shoes with the help of his toes before he storms toward his bedroom.

He throws me on the bed and slams the bedroom door shut with his foot. He growls lustfully before he dives to me. Our lips lock and I giggle into his mouth. His hands work my body deliciously, sending pleasure down to my spine, making me ache my back and move into his mouth.

I'm excited. I'm more than excited and a little bit scared. We are finally going to do it. I'm so overjoyed and at the same time terrified for the pain that Soul will put me through. I know he won't do it intentionally. He wouldn't want to hurt me, but I need to feel the pain before I can get a taste of heaven. We have been together for so long, it is time for us to take that last step in our relationship and be one. I can't be more than ready for this.

I fist his shirt and I pull Soul closer to me. Our kiss turns more heated when Soul snakes his tongue inside of my mouth.

My hands are shaking. He must feel how nervous I am since he pulls away and puts his hands over mine. "Don't worry. I will be gentle." His voice is so soft and full with love.

"I know you will." I can't stop my hands from shaking. "It's just. This is so new and exciting. I _really_ want to do this but I can't lie that I am a little scared."

"If you want to stop, then just say so. I won't hold it against you if you want to stop."

My hands slide down his shirt and grab the hem of it, slowly I start pulling it upwards his chest until he takes it off, revealing his perfect abs. "Don't worry about me. I don't want to stop. Can we just take it slow?"

Soul chuckles and nods, his thumb caressing my jaw line. "Of course my love." Our lips smash together and he puts more of his weight on me. "We will take this as slow as you want to."

The night had been amazing and mind-blowing. The feeling of him, the feeling of his raw love for me and the feeling of a _man._ He was very much _not_ tiny which made it extremely hard to relax at first, but as soon as I got over the pain, the pleasure took over and it became unbearable. I had never felt so exposed and loved by anyone before. Soul had never looked at me like he had that night, his eyes were so full with love and clouded with lust. For _me_. He was such amazing in so many ways and levels. He was so romantic when he held me after the passionate moment and the feeling, the sweet moment of basking in the glory of aftersex. Sex seemed to have affected both of us both in a positive way. The power of satisfaction is amazing.

That night, I spend it with Soul. We slept beside each other, completely bare for each other. The best part with everything must be waking up to him naked beside me. The sun sipping through the curtains and making his body glow in the glory of morning. His hair looked like it was blessed by the sun and his perfectly trained body looked godly. The gods would be jealous of his body, I'm sure of that.

His eyes slowly fluttered open and I could see how everything hit him. The memory of yesterday's activities and a large smirk grew on his face, completely covering it.

If I could live in one moment forever, it would definitely be that moment, just staring into his eyes while being completely exposed to him, both mentally and physically. He is the only one who has seen me like this, my naked body and touched the deepest parts of my mind. He is the only one I trust fully.

As much as we wish for things, they often don't come true. When the Soul's phone rang we had to snap back to the reality of the Kishins. The eclipse is coming soon and we need to prepare for battle. It is only one day away and many things need to be covered and prepared for.

That day proved to be a slave day, everybody was running around in Lord Death's basement, preparing as best as we could. Everybody's weapons needed to be sharpened and we needed a new gear to protect ourselves with. The odd thing is that we never used any sort of protective gear before, but now it seem like we needed it more than ever. I just hope it wouldn't get in the way.

_"I once was at the frontlines of an eclipse."_ Soul had confessed. _"It is the worst thing that can happen. The Kishins seems to be faster than the light and their strength is unbelievable. Killing the Kishins during the eclipse isn't an option. All we can do is focus on occupying them long enough so when the eclipse stops, the Kishins will be defenseless for about ten seconds. Their eclipse powers will disappear and leave them defenseless before they disappear. In those mere seconds we need to take out as many as we can."_

Soul had turned toward me and grabbed my shoulders so roughly. _"We will lose people. That is a fact. The Kishins will eat some of our teammate's souls. That is why I want you off the battlefield. If you die during that fight, I would never be able to forgive myself. Besides, you would be more of use during those ten seconds. With your Soul Force, you can take out multiply of Kishins while we would just be able to take one each."_

My mind was already set. I wanted to fight, I wasn't going to let Soul and the others go out and fight such danger themselves. Soul might be worried for me, but I'm even more worried about him. He is strong, but he is hardheaded. I have a feeling he would do something really stupid and he would get himself killed in order to save someone else.

I _need_ to be there, I _must_ be there.

The morning to the eclipse came and everyone was freaking out. Kid and Patty were hugging each other and kissing each other gently. They obviously didn't need an interruption.

Liz was on her phone talking to her boyfriend and Chrona and Harvar were talking to each other, blowing some steam and pumping each other up for the fight.

Kilik, oh, he is the one who sacrificed the most out of all of us. He isn't like the rest of us, he has a family. In order to be with us, he was forced to put up an act of a brat who always ran away from his family. To be here today, he had to officially break up with his family. No stories about running away, now it was the real deal and I feel really bad for him. He must be feeling a lot of pain at the moment. Fortunate for him, he has Patty by his side to comfort him and take his mind off of his family he just left.

Soul buckles the chest protector to his chest. He had made sure the gear wouldn't be too thick and heavy so we would still be as flexible as without it. The protective gear is supposed to protect us, not be a hinder, Soul has said to me.

"How are you feeling?" Soul asks, finishing strapping it to his chest.

"Nervous." I'm more than nervous. This is the battle of a life time. What if we fail? What if Soul dies? What if I die? I don't want to leave Soul, not after everything we have gone through. I would rather be locked inside of a basement with Soul at the moment instead of being at the front lines.

"Don't let it get a hold of you." Soul says and takes my hands in his. "You don't need to fight. You can just wait it out and then join us."

Quickly I shake the offer away. "No, as long as you are out there, I'm going to be there. I need to help you. What if―"

"Shhhh," Soul puts his finger on my lips. "Don't play the "What If" game. I assure you I will do everything I can in order to survive. I survived it once, I'm going to do it again."

I sigh loudly and removes Soul's finger from my lips, entwining our hands together. "You can't promise me that. Kishin can take you off guard and kill you or you could be surrounded by them. No one knows how this could end."

"You know if you go out there, those Kishins will carve your soul the most. Most of them will attack you and the chance of you dying is much greater than me or Black*Star. Tsubaki won't even be at the fighting field. She will be hiding in the shadows so it won't be her job to rescue us, we will have to get to Tsubaki in order to save ourselves. You do understand that?"

I nod and squeeze my hand. "If that means you and everybody else will have a higher chance to survive, then I will do it."

Soul sighs and runs his hand through his hair. "I really don't like having you on the field of such a dangerous mission, but you are hardheaded and you will do what you think is right. I won't stop you, but if you are hurt, I will take you off the battlefield immediately."

"And _I_ will take _you_ off the battlefield if _you_ are injured."

Soul chuckles and leans toward me. "Deal." He gives me smooch on my lips before he rests his forehead on mine. "I love you baby."

"I love you too." I kiss him quickly and grip his leather jacket.

"It's time to move out!" Black*Star yells.

My heart falls to the ground as we get out of the mansion and get into the vans, of course, Soul and I get on his bike. He leads the way where we will meet up with the Kishins outside of town. He stops and we are at a field outside of the city. If I remember right, it is the same field Hiro and I fought Kishins at. So we will be here once again.

Kilik opens the van and starts to pull out all the equipment everyone greedily takes.

"Five minutes!" Liz yells.

My heart is pounding in my chest. I put my daggers and knives and put them in my boots and my waistband. We all walk toward the middle of the field and Soul and I stand beside each other.

"Two minutes!" Liz exclaims. The trees rustle. They are getting closer. Soon. The time to fight is soon.

My eyes catch Soul's.

"One minute!"

He smiles gently toward me. How can he manage to smile at a time like this? He must have seen so much blood and see his friends die. He is amazing for being able to pull that off.

"They are coming!"

"Stay safe." Soul says and I nod in reply, afraid that my voice might crack. I'm so nervous.

Our eyes go back to the clearing in front of me. I close my eyes and activate my Soul Perception. I almost gasp in surprise. They are moving so fast, way too fast. Is this the powers they acquire from the solar eclipse? Soul weren't kidding when he described their powers, this isn't something we can fight against and win. Our best bet is by delaying them.

I gulp and turn off the Soul Perception.

Everyone… be safe… especially you, Soul.

The Kishins break through the forest in a fast speed. I grip my daggers. Their eyes wanders along our line of defense and when they set on me, they lick their mouths and three Kishins roar loudly and dive toward me.

Here goes nothing!

The Kishins dive into the dirty when I jump backwards, avoiding their claws, what I didn't expect is that Soul jumps straight in front of me. "You don't think I would let you fight by yourself?" He doesn't turn backwards to face me, he grips his large scythe and gets into his fighting stances.

This news calms me down a little. At least I won't be alone through this.

"Thank you." I whisper and I'm sure he heard me.

A Kishin with a short nose roars loudly and dives toward us. Soul blocks its claws with his scythe, but the power of the Kishin forces Soul to slam me out of the way as the Kishin breaks through Soul's block. He flips around and pulls me into his embrace before he dives out of the way for another Kishin's claws.

A sharp hiss ripples through Soul's throat and I catch the sight of blood.

He is hurt! He got hit!

Immediately I fire him with my soul wavelength to destroy the toxic that invades his system. I get a large smile from Soul before we hit the ground. I gasp when Soul suddenly pushes me away from him and a claw sinks into the ground just in between us.

How can he be able to fight them with me wrapped around him? If this keeps going, we are both going to end up dead, Soul because he does everything he can to protect me and I for not being able to fight properly.

I need to find a solution. A way to kill them, but that is impossible with the Kishin's strength and speed. They easily break through our guard so all we can do is dodge them, but with their speed and energy, we won't be able to dodge them for solid eight minutes.

There is only one way for all of us, death. Especially for me and Soul.

I can't avoid three Kishins, not with their super powers. This means Soul will be killed before me, and― and― we won't be able to be together.

Oh god! I need to do something about this!

"Maka!" Soul exclaims and before I know it. Soul pushes me out of the way again and doing so, the claws of the short nose Kishin sinks into Soul's right shoulder. His eyes, they first go from relief, to shock and then pain. His eyes flicker from pain to then the pure madness from the toxic from the venom. Soul's body hit the ground and with all the blood coating his shoulder and neck, you would definitely think he was dead, but he isn't. He is alive and he needs Soul Force. _Now._

"Soul!" I scream out and I think something inside of me was ripped apart. He needs medical attention and barely a minute has gone by!

He doesn't say something as I leap toward him, but instead a Kishin jumps in between us and slaps me backwards. I exclaim loudly and I find myself lying on the ground. The Kishin roars before it dives on top of me, going mad with their claws. First my head, misses me with an inch, then the other side. Miss. Quickly I fish up a new dagger from my waistband and blocks the claws, but I'm not strong enough. Easily the Kishin slaps the dagger and it goes flying. The claws sink into my bicep and I yelp in pain, the surprising thing is, the other Kishins at the fields hollers in pain as well, gripping their bicep.

To confirm my suspicion, I pull out another knife from my boot and slice my palm open.

Again, a series of roars follows, with them shaking their hand in pain.

So it is. They are all in some way connected to me. _I'm_ the heart of their existence. This means, in order to stop their rampage and killing forever, their heart needs to be cut off.

_I _need to die in order for all the Kishins to be wiped out.

A whimper ripples through my throat. I knew I might die today, but I never thought I would die like this. Not until know, I really realized I would die.

"I'm sorry Soul." I whisper and tears pour up in my eyes. It is too bad we would never get our happily ever after life.

I grip my knife tightly and I guide it toward my throat. Damn, my hands are shaking so badly. I need to get a grip over myself.

The Kishins start to get over their fit of pain. I need to finish this now. Slowly the edge of the blade sinks into my throat.

"MAKA!" Soul hollers and the next thing I know is I get a shock through my body, shaking my whole body to the core. Soul is in front of me, his hand on my stomach and his other hand taking the knife away from my throat.

Soul just used Soul Force on me.

All the Kishins roar loudly, gripping their stomachs before all of them decay into a mess of ashes. Kilik lies on the ground with his face digging into the ground. His whole body is coated with blood.

He is a goner.

Across the field I see Harver's and Chrona's bodies totally decapitated and their bodies slowly decay into ashes. They are dead as well.

Kid cries out loudly in sorrow, holding Patty close to his chest. He yells loudly for help and Tsubaki isn't far behind. Black*Star and Liz are the only ones that seem to be alright.

"This is the end." Soul coughs up blood onto my sweeter and the knife dig into the ground.

"Soul!" I cry out loudly, catching him before he falls. "No, no, no, you can't leave me. Please, don't leave me." Tears pour down my face as I hold him close in my arms. Oh god, there is too much blood!

Soul chuckles and gently takes my hand in his. "Don't worry about me." He squeezes it reassuringly. "It is just a flesh wound. I won't die. I promise." He finches in pain as his eyes wander to Kilik's body where Soul had once been laying at. His body has already turned into ashes. "He was reckless. He threw himself in front of the Kishin in order to give me the Soul Force to save you… Damn…"

"Oh Soul…" I hug him close to me, making sure not to hurt his shoulder too much. "You know he was very devoted to you. He will be remembered as a hero." My eyes look up again and I see Hiro and Spirit come running toward Patty's fallen form. Hiro must have gotten my father from the van.

"I know…" Soul says, moaning in pain. "He was a true warrior."

I caress his face. After Spirit takes over and starts working on Patty, Tsubaki comes running toward us, but as soon as my eyes go back to Soul's, they are closed and his breath shallow. Tsubaki dives down next to Soul, feeling his neck with her fingers while her other hand lays on his wounded shoulder, healing him.

"He is going to be okay. I just need to stop the bleeding." Tsubaki says and heals him with both of her hands. "How are your wounds? Do you feel dizzy? Is your body heavy?" She doesn't take her eyes off of Soul's wounds.

"I'm fine." I take a look at my shoulder and I notice, it is surprisingly smaller than it was and the cut in my palm has fully healed. It is the same thing that happened when I was taken from Star*Clan. My wounds had fully healed on their own, even my eye was regenerated and so my teeth. Is this my power?

"Good." Tsubaki says.

I grab Soul's hand and reassuringly give it a squeeze.

Maybe we will get our "happily ever after" after all.


	30. Chapter XXX

**Eventide**

**Chapter XXX**

The Kishins were gone, and not just gone for the rest of the day, they were _gone-_gone_._ They didn't return that night or even that night after. We all scouted in search for Kishin but we found none. Soul even contacted the other group Meisters and they hadn't seen any Kishins either.

The Kishin race had completely been destroyed.

Now when we didn't have to bear the duty of protecting the innocent from the Kishin's wrath, we were left without anything to do, well, sort of. The reality slapped us hard at the face, we had to go back to being students at Shibusen High and fix our grades as well as we could. Mine were a lot easier to fix than Soul's or the others who had done this for a much longer time.

While I went to the local college after graduating with… well, decent grades, Soul had to go an extra year at high school in order to get his grades high enough to become what he had always dreamt of; a carpenter.

I was a little bit surprised when he told me of his dream job as a carpenter. I thought he would rather want to fix vehicles or join the army. That always just seemed more _Soul_ to me, but when he told me how he had always fantasied after finding the meadow in the middle of the Death Forest (that is what we named it) Soul had always dreamt of building his own house there.

After a year of intense high school, and a three year long course, he finally graduated and become a carpenter.

What about me then? I just couldn't leave Soul. My dream college was across the country, but I couldn't go there without Soul and he had to stay in Death City due to his brother residing there and the whole group of ex-Meisters was there. So I chose love over my dream college and I couldn't be happier. The local college was a good one, but it wasn't like my dream college. Since my passion had always been toward education and teaching things, I of course became a teacher in English and Social Studies.

We were very lucky we lived in Wes's apartment since he took care of the bills and we only had to pay for a small bill or provide some groceries, which made it very cheap for us to live there.

Although, my father wasn't pleased when I moved into their apartment, said something about me being raped and used and other crazy stuff. The insurance went through nicely for my father and he moved into a small two bed apartment in hope that I would return home, which I never did, but we did grow a very good relationship now when my father knew about the real reason of my mother's death. He was actually very nice being around when he wasn't drunk and sulking in the past.

I had still one year left of my education to become a teacher when Soul started the project of our dreams. He took a job at a carpenter business when he was learning how to build houses properly. With the money he stashed it all until he had enough money to buy the land in the Death Forest, including the lake and the meadow for a very cheap price. The seller had said something about never managing to sell it due to the ghostly environment and bad soil to grow things on. She had obviously not seen the meadow of fruits grow there or else she would have a better chance of selling the land. The seller had been very overjoyed when she finally got to sell the "cursed" land.

Every night and weekends, Soul went to the meadow to build our dream home. We had worked on the blueprints together since we had plans of staying there for a _very_ long time. I took most care of the looks of our house and Soul drew the blueprints. It was so perfect. We would have a porch we could sit on and we would get a hammock we could cuddle in. In the summer we would have access to large delicious apples, berries of various kinds along with other kinds of fruits.

Since the forest was so dense with branches and trees, we had to work on a road up to the meadow first. With a help of a few machines, trucks with gravel and some super spiritual form powers, the road was quickly made, and we all did it by ourselves, well, Soul did most of it. I could only help him out when I wasn't studying, which he respected highly.

When I finally graduated and got my teaching degree, I got a job at the junior high in Death City, which allowed me to help Soul more often with his project, although he didn't seem to need it that much since he cheated a lot of times and used his Spiritual form, I guess we would still have a good use of that part of our past.

I drive up the rough gravel road toward our house on the meadow. The day was over and it is time to help Soul out and check on his progress. The house is soon finished and the only thing that would be mission was electricity, paint and wallpaper and furniture.

I stop at the beginning of the meadow and kill the engine.

"Hey love." I almost jump out of my skin. Soul had gone through the car and jumped out of the steering wheel in his spiritual form. I hadn't even seen him anywhere near the car! Damn him, he must have used his speed when I wasn't looking. Sometimes I just wanted to smack him and then kiss him right afterward.

"Damn you Soul! I could have hit my head! The ceiling isn't that high you know!" Soul had always complained how small my car is, saying that with his bike he didn't have any trouble at all with ceilings or car doors or anything of that nature.

"Sorry." He says not apologetic. He goes right through the car and turns back to his normal form, opening the door for me. "I have been waiting for you."

Waiting for me? He usually didn't even know the time had flown by or noticed me driving up the road. He got so easily into his project that was the only thing he was doing, he was just building and building and building, even forgetting to eat his lunch! Many times I had to call him on my lunch in order to get him to take a break to eat his lunch and rest.

"Is that so? What are you up to now?" I get out of the car and he closes the door for me.

Soul smirks wide and traps me between his arms, his sweaty chest just an inch away from mine. "This." He brings me into a tender kiss while his arms wrap around my back. His sweaty chest presses against my blouse as he takes out the hair clip in my hair. He had a tendency of doing so when we were about to get intimate.

I smirk against Soul's lips, but not for long because I felt Soul grab a hold of my bag and snatched it from me. "Now what do we have here." He says, quickly walking away from me as he searches my purse.

"Soul!" I scream and run after him. "Give it back!" Hasn't he learned that peeking inside of a woman's purse is bad?! It is a woman's secret ground!

"Nope." He carelessly takes out one thing at a time. "Tissues, not fun." He throws it behind me, forcing me to catch the items. "Make up, you're such a girl!" He tosses it behind him with no care in the world. "Come on, where is the fun stuff―"

"Give me that!" I snatch my purse from him and puts down all of my things that he raided from it. "What exactly are you even looking for?!"

Soul smirks wide and moves close to me. "A condom." He inhales my scent loudly, his hands daringly cups my behind. "I'm in the mood~"

I shiver. His hands. They are way too skillful for his own good. "You can wait for tonight. I didn't come here to sleep with you, I came here to help you." I moan loudly when Soul's lips find my neck and gently nibbling my throat.

"No one is here to see us." Soul states, he locks and kisses my neck. His fingers find the buttons and pop open one at a time. "It's been such a long time since we last did it."

I roll my eyes and gently push Soul away. "We did it at Monday night, remember? You had hit your thumb and you wanted to get it instead of a kiss on it." He had gotten both in the end.

"Four days is still a very long time." Soul says seducing and his hands snake under my blouse.

"You will have to wait for tonight." I pull Soul's hand out from my blouse and give them a squeeze. "Now, we have a house to build. I don't know about you, but I would like to move in here in a month." I smirk wide, getting an evil idea. "Or maybe you need some motivation. You won't be getting any sex until this house is finished and all of our furniture is at their place."

Soul pouts like a small child. "That is unfair! I'm the only one who is actually working at this house!"

"Then get some people from work―"

"No!"

Oh Soul. I had tried to convince him before at getting some of his coworkers to help on the house, but he never even budged. He kept whining about who he is the only person who worked on it and therefore it would take longer time to build it. He was too much of a man to ask for help with the building, but I knew he secretly loved working alone on it. Then he could be alone with his thoughts and sing loudly for himself. Yes, Soul usually does that a lot when he thinks he is alone. Even in the shower.

I sigh loudly and walks pass Soul. "Let's just start working on it." I take off my slippers on the porch and walk inside of our house with a hammer in my hand.

We had designed the house to look like a cottage, a nice little two-store cottage with one porch and one balcony. As embarrassing as it sounds, we had designed the house so we would have one bedroom, an office for me and a garage for Soul, a guest bedroom, and an extra room we said could be used as a "storage room," but we both knew exactly what we had in mind with the extra room, a room for a child. Even though we are only twenty-four, the subjects about marriage and children had come up quite often. Most of the times we would be joking around about genders and baby names, but through the teasing and jokes, we both were dead serious.

It is obvious for both of us that we plan on spending the rest of our lives together and start our own family. Now when we both have our own jobs in the carriers we want to work in, it is a good time to really start talking about marriage and babies.

"Take it easy." Soul says, grabbing my free hand. "No helmet and no steel boots, are you begging to have a bone in your body broken?"

I snort and poke Soul playfully in the chest. "You aren't wearing a helmet either, so you would rather have perfect hair and have a broken skull than even messier hair and a whole skull?"

Soul chuckles and runs a hand through his wild white hair. "I'm a carpenter and I know secrets about buildings. I'm going to be fine." Nope. A year later he got a plank on his head, getting a concussion. Ever since that day, he wore a helmet.

I roll my eyes. "Let's just finish this so we can call the electrician to come and finish this. Oh, and tomorrow we are going to go and look for wallpaper, paint and floors for all the rooms." I had already in mind what I wanted all the rooms to look like. I wanted them to have the cottage touch to them, but at the same time modern and really look like a house and not like a cottage you come for just a summer every year.

Soul groans loudly as he lets me pull him inside of the house. "Yes ma'am." He never liked the wallpapering and painting part. He has always been more of a building type of guy, but in this industry, it is good to have many expertise.

We walk inside of the baby room where Soul instructs me of what we will do and I start hammering the walls up with the help of Soul. "Do you remember when we were younger, when I told you about where I wanted to go once the whole Kishin thing was over?"

I do. He had always dreamed of a place where the sun never set, where we would always be able to escape the moon's mocking presence and live in the day. It was a very nice picture and unfortunately, ever since that dreaded day on the field, we had never gone to that place in the world.

Maybe it was because of the pressure of reality, or the memories of the ones we lost in the fight. Chrona, Harvar and Kilik. Kilik was the hardest one to get over since he was the reason we were together. If he hadn't sacrificed his life for Soul, then we would all be dead. In honor of Kilik, he had tattooed his name over the scar on his shoulder where the Kishin had struck him.

It wasn't until days later that we knew exactly why they died. Soul though that since I was infected by my mother who obviously had phenomenal strengths, I also did, and one of mine was being able to connect myself to all the other Kishins and when Soul had struck me with his Soul Force, it was send to all the Kishins and successfully killed them all. We also came up with the conclusion that if I had killed myself, the Kishins would only be immobile for a minute before they would regenerate and was able to walk and kill again. It was a very dark and sad picture, but it was something we needed to get answers to.

"Yeah, what about it?" I ask as I carefully hammer the nails into the wall.

"I was doing some research on it and there are these places where you can actually experience midnight sun and you can go on certain cruising where you can see whales and orcas."

"So when are we leaving?"

Soul blinks his eyes in confusion while he picks up a new board and holds it toward the wall. "Who said we were going there?"

I giggle and start nailing the board to the wall. "Like you weren't implying on us going there. The only time you do research is when you have to. You don't learn just for fun. For you to search for it, you must have a motive for it."

Soul chuckles and surrenders. "Okay, fine, I want us to go there." I know him so well. "I was actually thinking we could go there and take a break from everything, you know, just to relax and have a good time."

It does sound very intriguing, seeing whales and orcas, watching the sun in the middle of the night while drinking wine and eating crackers. I like the vision.

"Do you have a date in mind?"

Soul nods and leans toward the wall when I finish nailing it. "Actually, I know it is a short notice, but I was actually thinking we could leave next weekend. The midnight sun won't last much longer."

"But what about the house? Can we just leave?"

Soul chuckles and nods. "Yeah. We could decide the floor, wallpapers and those kind of stuff and get some people to fix it for us while we are gone."

The electrician will come soon so then we will have some time to look at paints and wallpaper. We got the whole weekend for it as well. It is enough time for us to finish the house for the wallpapers and floor to go up. The only thing preventing us really is ourselves.

"I think it is a great idea." I walk up to Soul and wrap my arms around his neck. "Let's go. We both deserve a vacation and it would be fun to see midnight sun."

Soul wraps his arms around my waist, pulling me closer to him. "Is that a deal?"

"Yes." Our lips lock and we kiss passionately, with tongues and everything.

On that trip, Soul had proposed to me at midnight when the sun was still up. Our lives had taken a sudden turn with the marriage and with our dream home almost finished. I found out I was pregnant with our first baby and we both couldn't be happier. Soul had burst out crying tears of joy and I couldn't keep my tears locked behind my eyelids. Not when I was pregnant with the love of my life's child.

Yes, I enjoy my life very much when I'm not haunted at night by creepy monsters, instead, I'm haunted by Soul's hands touching my naked body. I will always prefer Soul's hands than the sound of the monster pacing back and forth outside of my window.


End file.
